Πinja Creed
by Encore19
Summary: Only a few years after the attack of the Nine-Tails a very different Jinchuuriki is assigned to his four-man squad. Tojike Kohaku is a sixteen-year-old Genin and host of the Zero-Tails, trying to make it as a Leaf Ninja! (Will contain slash. Mostly OCs but expected appearances from the Third Hokage and Orochimaru.)
1. The Zero-Tails Jinchuuriki!

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ـمــتـ 。Πاɲزα Crع.غd 。ـمــتـ

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ـم _01_ ـم

 _The Zero-Tails Jinchuuriki!_

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 _I will make the darkness inside you grow stronger… I will expand the negative influences of your soul… I will feed off the evil of those around you… I will…_

Tojike opened his eyes, lurching up out of bed and hunching forward. He panted while clenching the end of his blankets. In his mind's eye he could still see it: that coiling eel body, the elongated leach with the masked face. Calming himself down he narrowed yellow eyes at the wall before reaching up to rest his face in his palm. _The Reibi is getting more eager…_ Tojike turned to the morning sunlight that was pouring white through his window. He remembered what the Hokage had said to him and tried to soothe his worrying. This was the reason Hiruzen Sarutobi had delayed the ninja teams from being formed until the Genin were older. Many children had died in the Third Shinobi World War, and the village was damaged further after the attack of the Nine-Tails a few years ago. With the Lord Third regaining his seat of power steps had to be taken to reconsolidate the Leaf.

With a groan Tojike swung his feet out of bed. He could hear his parents preparing breakfast downstairs. Today was an important day, so no wonder the Reibi would be acting up. Tojike knew about the monster that'd been put inside him when he was eight. He knew that worrying never helped. Negative emotions only made it stronger. For that reason he banished his thoughts, but couldn't help wondering who he'd be partnered with in his four-man squad today. Would they get along? What jutsu would they use? What would their sensei be like?

Their home was in the middle of the Hidden Leaf's busiest district. A poor structure wedged between shops, made of wood, plaster and bamboo-paper. Tojike's parents adopted him when he was brought to the village, at only eight-years-old. So they looked nothing alike. They weren't shinobi and made their living in the markets, selling fruit and vegetables. Tojike had a steamy shower before heading quickly down the creaky wooden steps in his maroon shirt and black pants. His right sleeve and back displayed the symbol of two encircling commas. He was tying up his shinobi headband, equipped with his weapons pouch – all he needed were his sandals and he'd be ready to go.

"G'morning Tojike!" His father was just setting out their steaming bowls.

"It's a big day for you today." His mother knelt at their table, picking up her chopsticks.

"Yeah…" Tojike went to kneel at the table and his food was set in front of him. "Thanks."

They were eating watery noodles with a few bobbing dim sums. The three sat together while Tojike only pushed his slimy food around. Until he realised he'd need the energy for today and started eating quickly. Both of his parents had round faces and lighter hair. Tojike had always been slim and pale, with outgrown, straight black hair. He was mostly colourless aside from his bright amber eyes. Tojike ate quickly while his parents spoke, shovelling down his sustenance.

"I heard that back in the day shinobi were assigned into teams straight after leaving the academy."

"That was about four years ago for our Tojike. At sixteen he's practically a man now."

"He'll be getting a lot more money from missions. With a Jonin it won't just be D-rank and C-rank missions."

"Well we could certainly use some extra money to fix up the place around here…"

Tojike finished his meal and got up. He needed to head down to the classrooms to find out who'd be in his team. After farewelling his family he leant against the doorway to pull on his footwear and then headed out. Jogging down the dirt street past villagers going about their daily business. Inside him the Zero-Tails writhed with enthusiasm. It made Tojike daunted.

He slowed down to a walk when he got to the grassy training fields, pacing beside the high chain-link fence. Ahead he could already recognize other classmates he hadn't seen since his academy days. None were friends. Tojike had always been a loner, isolated because of his secret. The other kids had never known he was a Jinchuuriki. The Reibi made it difficult in other ways. Being a creature that fed off darkness, Tojike seemed to have inherited its innate knowledge of the negativity of others. Upon meeting people he could sense their inner fears, pain, sadness and… evil. He could read this from people instantly, and sometimes they'd feel worse just from being around him. Tojike had received rigorous mental training to deal with it.

It was the destructive energy of the Zero-Tails, bringing everything to nothing.

Up ahead the academy came into view, beneath the four stone Hokage faces. Genin were standing in groups outside and talking. Tojike didn't talk to anyone and none of them really noticed him, he slipped between them and walked into the red building. Polished floorboards and papers taped to walls, Tojike felt a small bout of nostalgia. He walked down the corridor, could hear people talking over each other as things were organized. One of the sliding doors to a classroom was open and Tojike peeked in. One of the teachers was going through a list, several new groups were standing around talking. Tojike stepped across the gleaming floor to the bandana-clad Sensei who looked up, expecting his name.

"I'm Tojike Kohaku." He said and watched the man lick his finger before flicking through the papers. The teachers in the academy were only Chunin. _Who would be the elite Jonin leading our squad?_

"Ah! Here you are. Team Three under Sensei Tamuki Shimura. Meeting in classroom 2B where you'll meet your team-mates Manzu Uzumaki and Kawari Senju."

"Th-thanks." Tojike stepped away, slightly dazed. He turned for the door.

The Senju Clan was one of the strongest clans in the village, right up there with the Uchiha. Both were formidable bloodlines with remarkable skill. Tojike felt intimidated thinking about it. The Uzumaki was a lesser-known clan but Tojike had heard of them because of being a Jinchuuriki. In order to contain the Nine-Tails it was sealed inside members of the Uzumaki clan because of their incredible lifeforce energy. Since the Zero-Tails wasn't technically a tailed beast Tojike had been picked instead of another Uzumaki. As for their Sensei… Tojike didn't know much about the Shimura clan and what powers they possessed.

He stepped down the walkway feeling nervous before finding 2B. There was talking going on behind the partially open door. Tojike reached in and slid it open, walking in to see an empty room with his two team-mates standing inside.

The Uzumaki girl was unmistakable because of her shoulder-length dusty-red hair. She was average in height with slate blue-grey eyes, looking over curiously. Manzu was wearing a sleeveless coat buttoned a few notches at the top, revealing some of the fishnet material at her waist. Her skirt and leggings stopped above her knees. She was dressed in navy-blue. The Senju boy was in pale-green, leaning back against a desk with his hands gripping the edge. His chocolate-brown hair was untidy, his brown eyes inquisitive. Kawari was rather handsome – tanned skin and a more muscular body than Tojike possessed. His clothes were typical martial-arts uniform, and on his sleeve was the Senju symbol like the wave spiral Manzu had and the twin commas of Tojike's garbs. Their Sensei was not yet here.

Before Tojike could even get a word out the Zero-Tails already scanned his new companions. The girl's family had been refugees from the Hidden Eddy Village that was destroyed in the last war. They'd been vagabonds for most of her childhood before settling here in the Leaf. The other boy was pressured to become a strong shinobi, he was hard on himself and deep down there was hidden fear there. _Yet neither of them feel particularly dark_ , Tojike concluded after the scan.

The two stared at him. Could they sense the Zero-Tails presence?

"Ah- hi! Nice to meet you both. My name's Tojike Kohaku." He said quickly stiffening, formal.

"Oh? The Kohaku clan." The boy spoke up with a wide grin. "They're not a clan of this village, right?"

"Not specifically. They lived on the border of the Land of Fire, next to the Land of Rain." Then Tojike hoped they wouldn't notice his use of past-tense.

"I'm Kawari Senju."

"Manzu Uzumaki." The girl said sweetly. "Nice to meet you."

Tojike felt a bout of relief. Neither of them seemed to be harbouring the kind of negativity that would feed the Zero-Tails. He could feel the monster settling deeper inside himself and glanced to the door with a smile.

"I'm really curious to meet our Sensei now. Tamuki Shimura…"

"Should be here soon." Manzu stated.

"Tamuki-Sensei is from the same clan as Danzou, the village elder and leader of the Anbu Black Ops." Kawari commented, thinking deeply.

Tojike turned when he heard the door open wider. The three teenagers stared at their teacher, a woman in a Leaf flak-jacket with chin-length ash-brown hair. She had black smudges around both of her dark eyes. Being a Jonin with much more experience and a complicated past, the Zero-Tails could dissect a much longer list of pain. Something to do with the Third Shinobi World War and a woman villager who'd lived in the Land of Grass.

"Alright… so you guys are Team Three." She surveyed them for a moment, her oddly blackened eyes moving across them in turn. She leaned back. "Come on, let's go."

"Go where… Tamuki-Sensei?"

"Out to the training field." She answered while walking away, slipping her hands into her pockets.

The three looked at each other, then Kawari pushed off the desk and they followed her out. She hadn't introduced herself properly and didn't strike Tojike as friendly. They went down the corridor in silence and left the building, back out in the morning sunlight. Another Jonin wearing an eyepatch, standing with his own students noticed Tamuki and waved. She nodded quickly and looked away. Her shoulders and elbows bent, she seemed to hunch forward as she led them to the training field.

"Sensei…" Manzu spoke up, trying to start conversation. "What's with the black paint around your eyes?"

"Listen up." She turned over her shoulder to stare at them. "I'm the Jonin, so I ask the questions here. Got it?"

"Ah… yes ma'am."

"Good."

The three Genin looked at each other awkwardly. They didn't say another word as they were led along the chain-link fence and over to the entrance. They walked across the grassy expanse until the academy was behind them, a good distance away. There were wildflowers of yellow, white and purple scattered throughout the area, swaying in the breeze. A copse of trees far-off by a running stream. Tamuki cleared her throat and turned around, studied her new students with her hands on her hips.

"I've studied your ninja profiles, but I'm not satisfied with that. I want to see your skills for myself. So we're going to fight here and the three of you are going to give me everything you've got. I'm a Jonin, so I doubt you'll be able to do me any damage. Do you understand?"

Tojike felt rooted to the spot. _They were supposed to fight her all out?_ He felt terrified, the Zero-Tails squirmed in pleasure. When the three were too shocked to reply Tamuki narrowed her eyes.

"But first…" She crossed her arms over the flak-jacket. "Before we fight I want to know more about each of you. If we're going to be in a three-man squad and do missions, we'll definitely be spending a lot of time together. Outside of the village especially. So let's start with… _you_." Her eyes fixed on Tojike and he winced.

"…what do you want to know?"

"Your name. Your reason for becoming a shinobi." She closed her eyes and sighed as she thought. "Your ambitions. Your likes, dislikes. Your fears. Your interests… for a start. Just tell me about you."

"Okay. Ah…" _She doesn't even remember our names but she read our files?_ "My name is Tojike Kohaku. The reason I'm becoming a Shinobi is to serve the village…" Looking into that cold stare Tojike knew that his sensei knew he had a powerful monster sealed within him. He remembered talking to the Hokage. Hiruzen had said that merely being a vessel for the Zero-Tails made him a liability, but learning how to control its power someday would make him an asset to the village. The Leaf Village… the place he'd been forcibly taken, not the place of his birth…

Tojike straightened "My ambition is to be a Jonin someday. I like table games, card games, mah-jong. I dislike seafood. I'm afraid of… death, I guess." Tojike shrugged.

"Death befalls shinobi." Tamuki interrupted plainly.

"That's true. I'm interested in history. Shinobi history, and reading old literature."

"I see." Tamuki replied without emotion. Manzu was watching him quietly. Kawari had a big grin that stretched across his face. Their sensei turned to the girl. "You're next."

"I'm Manzu Uzumaki. There's nothing else I want to do apart from being a ninja. I want to train up my Ninjutsu and help my country and fellow man. I like sight-seeing and being out in the world. I want to go on missions to faraway places."

"The ninja world is a dangerous place." Tamuki commented.

"I know… that's one of the reasons I want to become a ninja. So I can go out there and see it. I dislike arrogant ninjas… if I end up in a high position in the Leaf someday I'll be a lot stricter on the Chunin around here. I'd say I'm afraid of failure, not being able to reach my goals. I'm interested in shinobi politics, our government, and our relations with the other countries… So I guess," Manzu turned to look at Tojike. "I'm interested in the history of the Shinobi World Wars as well."

Tojike was fascinated in the times before the village was founded. The Warring States era, the writings and stories and way of life. Not so much in history about modern-day ninjas, but he smiled at Manzu anyway.

"You didn't tell us your ambition in all that." Tamuki stated.

"I want to be someone important in the village. Someone who has a say in how things are done." Manzu answered.

"Good. Well, last is you." Their Sensei turned to Kawari who was still grinning widely.

"My name is Kawari Senju." He stood confident and proud. "I've become a ninja so I can live up to the Senju clan's name! My ultimate goal, one day, would be Hokage!"

"Hokage?" Tamuki quickly interrupted. Kojike and Manzu stared at him in surprise. "In the history of ninja only a few have ever become Hokage. Every single Hokage that has died has done so in the field of battle."

"True. They were the greatest ninjas in the world, and they shaped it into what it is today. That's why I want to be one of them." Kawari was still grinning and he looked determined. He was a very confident guy, at least. Even if Zero-Tails had sensed a fear inside him, he had a lot of belief in himself as well. That was the problem with Tojike's ability. He could only sense the negativity of people, he couldn't see all the other stuff. Everyone has some degree of darkness. Being the host of the Zero-Tails made Kojike see only the bad in everyone, unfortunately.

"Okay." Tamuki didn't seem impressed. "What else?"

"I like rock-climbing and training. I hate being bored, so I keep busy. My biggest fear would be," he got more serious at that part "dishonouring the village, my clan, my comrades." As he continued Tojike could feel that answer wasn't quite the truth. "I'm not very interested in history…" He reached up to touch the back of his head, ran his hand through his untidy hair "But I am interested in training more than anything else. I want to become strong."

"Very well. That's enough." Tamuki turned away from them and stepped away. "I'm starting to understand each of you now…"

Tojike knew that he wasn't like other teens. He'd always been anti-social and spent more time with his parents than most, playing adult games with dice, sometimes gambling his mediocre money from missions with extended relatives, neighbours and friends of his parents. He was polite, well-behaved and got along better with adults than kids his own age. Tojike was an old soul. Looking at his new comrades he could see that Manzu was a practical, hard-working and kinda serious girl, while Kawari was a confident, talented and laid-back kind of guy. As for their Sensei…

Tamuki reached into her weapons pouch and pulled out a kunai. The three teens got into a nervous fighting stance, but not looking at them Tamuki sliced her thumb and weaved seals. She splayed her palm onto the ground and a cloud of smoke burst forth, engulfing her and fading to reveal… a blinking racoon in a blue vest.

"You're the Racoon Princess!" Manzu suddenly realized, pointing. "I've heard of you!"

Tojike blinked and their teacher turned around, still crouching. It explained the weird black smudges around her eyes. They looked too messy to be a clan thing.

"Congrats Tamuki!" The small animal spoke in a voice that reminded Tojike of a squat, weasel-like man. "The youngins of the Leaf know your reputation. So what am I here for? Training?"

"Listen here." Tamuki was glaring at the three of them. "If I agree to become your sensei I _promise_ you that I'll make you into fine ninjas. I will make you into the best shinobi you can be, I'll devote myself fully to your training and help you achieve your dreams. However… first you'll have to convince me that you're worthy. You have one hour to land a successful attack on me. Afterwards I'll decide whether I want you or not."

Tojike narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. _Let's start then…_

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 **AN: Here begins yet another FanFic! I've been exploding with ideas lately. I've been thinking about writing stories for Xiaolin Showdown, Star Wars, Terminator and the list goes on! In any case this is not my first OC Naruto FanFic. I know how to prioritize though... the stories that get the most reviews get updated! So leave feedback if you want me to continue. Arigatou ~**

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	2. Tamuki-Sensei's Test

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ـم _02_ ـم

 _Tamuki-Sensei's Test_

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"Gahahaha!" The racoon in the vest shook with laughter, breaking the ominous silence. He even held his belly with his little paws. "You kids are going to fight the Leaf's Racoon Princess, Tamuki Shimura? You don't stand a chance! She was a hero in the last war, don't you know? She has a lot of battle experience."

"Mr Baki…" Tamuki interrupted his laughing without looking at the small creature. "The reason I summoned you is because these teenagers are potential students of mine. I want you to witness so I can have a second opinion on them."

"Really…? Heh. I never thought you'd end up taking students."

Tojike clenched his teeth. He'd only been on C-rank and D-rank missions before. He'd fought with thugs and gang members, but not against another Genin. There was no doubt she had more experience than all three of them.

"Let's begin!" Tamuki yelled. "It starts now! You have one hour to land a successful hit!"

"Alright!" Kawari yelled. He clapped his hands into the snake seal, a high amount of chakra surged past them. He weaved signs quickly then splayed his palm into the ground. "Earth Style: Land Divide!"

The ground beneath them exploded into segments, each raising to different heights. Tojike and Manzu cried out as they were forced diagonally apart on the speeding slopes. Quickly Tojike focused chakra in his feet to keep from being thrown into the air, he crouched on the side of the slant. The ground beneath Tamuki had raised several metres and she was sent flying into the air, backflipping and arcing over, deflecting the shuriken thrown by Kawari with her kunai. She landed out of view.

"Earth style…" Tojike observed. "Incredible."

"She's coming!" Kawari warned.

From behind the blocks of Earth Tamuki dashed around, hurtling a kunai at Tojike who quickly whipped out one of his own and deflected it. _Shit, this is serious_. Manzu flew into the air and weaved signs, she threw shuriken and the few multiplied into twenty. _The academy's shuriken clone jutsu_! Tamuki dodged to the side and they embedded in the grass.

"Damn!" Tojike dashed forward, he was closest to their sensei now and there was no point running away. He weaved signs for the clone genjutsu and then his six copies dashed forward with the body-flicker taijutsu. Tojike dashed through his illusions as they lashed fake strikes, fading through Tamuki before Tojike aimed a punch that hit her stomach.

 _Got you!_ He thought as she crumpled around his fist, only to burst into water. "A water clone?"

Tamuki appeared on the other side closest to Manzu and Kawari.

"Wind Style: Vortex Blast!" She splayed her hands into a diamond and a wide blast of air surged out, tearing chunks out of the earth slopes. The other two jumped aside and so did Tojike, the gust blasting around him. He raised his arms as his hair whipped about, flying several metres before landing in a crouch. Heavy rocks tumbled along the ground before coming to rest. Behind Tamuki were a few more clones. The watching racoon weaved out of the debris to stand safely away.

 _That was a strong Earth style before, but that Wind style was even stronger_.

Tamuki leapt forward and so did her clones. Manzu held her ground and clashed kunais with one of the Tamukis, their weapons clinking against each other. Another Tamuki slashed at Kawari and he jumped aside. Tojike did the ram seal and gathered chakra while the Jonin approached. She blurred and slammed into him, barging so hard he gagged, flying back and tumbling across the ground.

"Earth Style: Catapult Bullets!" Kawari fired pebbles from his mouth that grew into oval boulders, smashing through what was left of the earth pillars with their speed. The water clones all managed to dodge, leaping away from the projectiles.

Tojike looked up at the Tamuki glaring and separating him from his comrades. _Such speed. Water clones are supposed to be a tenth as strong as the original, this Tamuki is probably the real one_. Tojike got on his hands and knees, Tamuki made a hand-sign. Manzu and Kawari leapt at her back while the clones jumped after them.

"Wind Style: Vacuum Tornado!" Her hair blasted upwards as air spiralled, expanding away from her and shredding the grass. Tojike felt like he'd been hit by a battering ram, he was propelled into the air by the sudden twister. Manzu and Kawari cried out as they got carried away as well, the force was so strong that the water clones burst into droplets. Tojike tumbled again, bracing himself. When he looked up, lying flat on his stomach, he could see the dust settling and their sensei standing still. Behind her Manzu and Kawari were knocked down as well, separated from each other.

 _Tamuki-Sensei isn't playing around…_ Tojike glanced toward the trees. _We should get away and come up with a plan_. He got his knee under him, struggling up, then Tojike leapt off to the side. Manzu seemed to have the same idea. Kawari charged at their sensei however.

Tamuki turned, deflected his strike with her forearm. She moved back as he advanced, aiming strong punches that she blocked and dodged. He leaped up for a spin-kick and she ducked, Kawari slammed his foot down as she jumped back. The ground cracked under him. He continued pressing her with his taijutsu, expression tight and determined. When he saw his opportunity Kawari drove his whole body forward into a punch that Tamuki crossed both arms to block. The force of the attack sent her flying back and she spun through air, skidding away from him.

 _Kawari is strong… that last punch had a lot of power to it. Was that just chakra control?_ The Zero-Tails squirmed inside Tojike. _His chakra felt different somehow…_

Tamuki narrowed her eyes at him, grimaced.

"You are a Senju…" Her voice held curiosity. Tamuki whipped out a scroll from her belt and flicked it open, smoke exploded and she was holding two windmill shuriken, the right one resting over her shoulder while she got ready to throw the left. Kawari's eyes widened and Tojike started running over to Manzu.

She threw the giant shuriken and weaved signs, it burst into a dozen copies that spun toward their team-mate. Kawari side-stepped quickly and jerked his head back, narrowly missing one of the spinning blades. He jumped over to Manzu as well and Tamuki pushed forward, throwing the other windmill shuriken overhead and weaving signs.

"Earth Wall!" Kawari barred his teeth while holding the snake seal. A huge rock shield raised from the ground and they could hear several sharp plinks as more windmill shuriken clones embedded into the other side of the wall. Tojike and Manzu were together with Kawari now, staring up at the massive shield.

Wind blasted around them and cracks spider-webbed through the wall. Their barrier exploded and sent wind and rock chunks slamming into their body. The three teens cried out as they were blasted back, Tojike struggled to keep his eyes open as earth pieces smacked into his shoulder and side, winding him. He hit the ground with his back, painfully.

The three of them had bore the brunt of her attack.

Tojike opened his eyes one at a time to see they were all lying flat, surrounded by broken boulders with windmill shuriken sticking out of them. Manzu looked as bad as Tojike felt, beaten and bruised. Kawari was clutching his stomach painfully and bleeding from a long cut on his shoulder, one of the big shuriken blades had got him.

"Shit…" Through the dust Tojike could see a standing figure.

"We got to get to the trees." Manzu stated, getting slowly to her feet. "Come on!"

The three of them pushed off, jumping and limping over to the coverage of trees. Tamuki made no move to go after them. Once they darted through the shrubbery Tojike felt relief. They weaved further into the trees before coming to a stop. Manzu immediately leant back against a trunk while Kawari fell into a sitting position, still clutching his stomach painfully.

"Jeez…" Tojike reached up and gripped a branch for support. "Are we going to be alright here?"

"I think so…" Manzu replied. "I'm sure Tamuki-Sensei doesn't expect us to fight her full-on for an hour. She's going to give us time and see what plan we come up with…"

"She really doesn't pull her punches." Tojike rubbed his aching shoulder, his side was grazed and the bottom of his shirt ripped. "I don't even know if I want a Sensei like her…" He looked at Kawari who was still panting, in too much pain to speak. Manzu studied him as well.

"Anyway…" she took a wonky step away from the tree and dropped down beside the injured Kawari. "We need to tell each other our skills so we can make a plan to beat her. If she doesn't acknowledge us who knows when we'll get another Jonin… it'll look bad." She made a hand-sign and grimaced.

Kawari watched her with one eye, still panting as he gripped his stomach with one hand and leaned back on his other. When Manzu splayed her hands over Kawari they were swathed in a pale-blue light. She moved her arms over his wound and it quickly healed, she moved the chakra to his abdomen and Kawari started breathing better, sitting up. He looked recovered in a matter of seconds. Tojike gaped as Manzu fell back into a sitting position. He watched the two of them on the ground while the Zero-Tails coiled in fascination.

"What you were doing with your chakra… helped it…" Manzu was saying to Kawari.

 _These two aren't ordinary ninja_ , Tojike realised.

According to rumoured scriptures about the Sage of Six Paths, the Senju clan had inherited the Sage's body. They had great strength, stamina and vast chakra reserves. That was why they were known as the clan of a thousand skills. Like any Senju, Kawari also had skill. He already knew his chakra nature and was proficient in multiple incredible Earth jutsu. He was also very skilled at taijutsu, Tojike could see that from his brief exchange of fists with their Sensei. He had strength, speed and good technique. Most surprisingly however – Tamuki had seemed to notice and with the Zero-Tails perceptiveness, Tojike realised as well – Kawari had the ability to use nature energy.

It was usually impossible without training in the legendary sage jutsu. There was no way a Genin could've been given that training, Kawari seemed to be able to absorb energy nature on instinct, combine it with his physical and spiritual energies perfectly to generate more chakra than usual. _That was why that punch was so strong_ , Tojike remembered how he'd surprisingly bruised their Sensei even as she augmented chakra to block. Kawari had the body and cells to absorb small portions of nature energy, and flawlessly meld it to his chakra to make his body stronger, purely on instinct. He truly was strong, even for a Senju.

"Manzu…" Tojike looked away from the other boy to stare at her. "Medical jutsu doesn't work that fast, and that well…"

It was rare for a Genin to know medical jutsu. Low-ranked ninjas who knew how to use the healing jutsu specialized in medics, so they weren't much good at other aspects of training. But the skill she'd used on her teammate was a forbidden jutsu, Tojike recognized it. There's no way someone would've taught her that. It's possible she taught herself from a stolen scroll, but that wasn't like the rule-abiding kunoichi Manzu seemed to be. Illegally teaching yourself a forbidden jutsu is a big crime. No, it was more likely Manzu had also learnt how to perform the skill naturally, on instinct. The Uzumaki girl didn't raise her head while Tojike studied her.

"That jutsu…" He continued. "It's reanimation ninjutsu. The more you use it the more it shortens your life, why would you use something like that now?" Tojike and Kawari stared at her.

"My lifeforce is much stronger than either of yours…" Manzu explained. "In my case, I can even control my lifeforce and use it. The average lifespan of an Uzumaki is over a hundred years. Just look at how long Mito, the First Hokage's wife managed to live. There's not as much risk if I use this power, even now. I have more lifeforce than most, and more to spare. Even if I use it every now and again just for healing my lifespan will probably only shrink to that of a normal person."

"A forbidden jutsu…?" Kawari mouthed. Tojike looked aside and rubbed his shoulder, _jeez. These two…_

"Okay." Manzu raised her head, eyes fierce. "We need to figure out our strengths so we can use them on her. Then we can come up with a plan, alright?" As she said it Kawari nodded firmly, Tojike gave a nod of agreement as well. "Good. I'm not actually a medical ninja. I don't want to use this jutsu in front of Sensei and risk her figuring out what it is. My main talent is… sealing jutsu. If she was weakened or knocked out, or kept still for long enough I could place a restriction or chakra-draining seal. I don't think that's going to work in this situation though… My best move is the Three-Pronged Seal, but I need to be up-close for that."

"Three-Pronged Seal?" Kawari asked.

"It's a variant of the Five-Pronged. I'm not strong enough for that jutsu, but this alternate version still binds the victim's flow of chakra and eventually their movements. It's also very difficult to release."

"Sounds like a good plan." Kawari stated. "I'm a combat type. I'm good at close-range and mid-range fighting. My taijutsu's good, plus my Earth Style gives good defence and can knock her off-balance. Sensei has better element jutsu than me, though."

"Okay." Manzu nodded and then looked up at Tojike.

"I'm… good at genjutsu."

"I saw you make quite a few clones before, more than most people can." She stated. "Can you make an illusion to trap her?"

"Ah… yes. I have one jutsu in my arsenal that can do that."

"A Jonin would probably be able to break it with the release jutsu right away, but if we use it with Kawari's fighting and Earth style, it might give me an opportunity to get in close and use the Three-Pronged Sealing Jutsu. What do you guys think?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Kawari exclaimed.

"It's not very complicated." Tojike admitted.

"Some of the best plans are the simple ones! Hup!" Kawari sprang up onto his feet and offered his hand to Manzu, she took it and he helped her to stand.

Tojike turned at the sound of rustling leaves. He thought he glimpsed a small animal disappearing… wearing a little blue vest. _Mr Baki the raccoon?_ He turned back to the other two who hadn't noticed.

"We've still got most of an hour to do this…" Manzu stated. "Let's make sure our bodies are alright to move before we go out there again. It seems like she's not going to come in here after us."

Ten minutes later they were at the edge of the trees, crouching at the tops and staring through the coverage of leaves. Tamuki stood motionless, waiting with a bored expression. The grass around her was shredded from her powerful wind attacks, chunks and slabs of ground from the earth moves. The windmill shuriken glinted as the sun climbed overhead. Tojike could see the clothed racoon standing a few metres away from their teacher, picking at his teeth.

If Tojike were really going to give everything he had, he would need to use _that_ jutsu. But he didn't know if he could do it, not to someone who was supposed to be a comrade. Tojike's most devastating jutsu was enough to cripple most enemies with one shot. It had a high rate of effectiveness. But if he were to use it on Tamuki there was every possibility she would hate him afterwards. It would definitely lower her guard though.

Tojike wasn't strong enough to control the Reibi or its chakra. He couldn't use it as a booster, he couldn't partially transform into its shape. If he gave into the Zero-Tails it would take over him easily. All Tojike could do was sense negativity, like the Reibi itself. His energy was subsumed by the monster, and if he wasn't focused, his own negativity had the power to leak out and bring down those around him.

Other tailed beasts had a presence that struck fear into those who sensed it. The Zero-Tails was different. People affected by its energy felt like they were being pushed down, suppressed. Zero-Tails aura made people feel low, apathetic and sad. It made them feel like nothing. It was a sensation Tojike had been well acquainted with for half his lifetime.

Peering through the trees he could see Manzu looking at him. Kawari was barely visible further along. The girl gave the signal and Tojike weaved hand-seals, pulling out multiple shuriken in both hands. _Three… two… one… now_! From three different places shuriken whizzed out of the forest toward their motionless Sensei, all three of them used the shuriken clone technique and soon a storm of glinting shuriken was raining toward Tamuki. Her hands were in a seal and she froze.

 _She's not going to use a Wind Style in multiple directions, right_? Tojike watched as she flitted forward, toward the blizzard of steel that was coming from his direction. He jumped down from the tree as a powerful blast of wind made the wood tilt and crack, shuriken raining back the way they came, flinging loudly through bush and into trees. When it was clear Tojike whipped around and ran toward her, he could see Kawari surging forward while Manzu stayed back, as was the plan. It wasn't simple enough for Kawari to just knock her off balance, Tojike needed to be the one to do that before Manzu used her sealing jutsu. Tojike needed to rely on _that_ jutsu – he wasn't going back to the academy.

Tamuki was moving away from Kawari, still speeding on to Tojike. Kawari made a seal and an earth wall sprang upward to separate them. _Nice_. Tojike focused chakra to his feet as he leapt aside several long bounds. Kawari was fighting up-close again, swinging his fists while Tamuki pranced away. He pushed off with another punch that flew over Tamuki's head, lodging into the earth wall and spreading deep cracks along its surface. Tamuki flew up and crouched atop the wall, then she launched back toward Manzu who'd been avoiding the fight, gathering chakra while maintaining the rat seal.

 _You saw through it, Sensei? No. You only think you did._

As Manzu generated chakra the basic transformation jutsu became undone. Manzu had made herself look like Tojike and vice-versa. Tojike stood holding the rat seal and Tamuki's eyes narrowed as she flew toward him. The genjutsu was ready. The real Manzu was sprinting after them, prepared to use her jutsu. Tamuki reached back and whipped out a kunai, ready.

Tojike's eyes widened suddenly and the Zero-Tails pulsed.

His ultimate technique was just a basic illusion-casting. It allowed the user to project an image. The vision was hazy and anyone trained would be able to see it as fake. However… when used in conjunction with the Zero-Tails ability to perceive its opponent's greatest fear and most agonizing pain, he was able to project their worst trauma back to them and deal severe mental damage.

From between them a blonde woman with kunai embedded in her looked up from her knees, bleeding to death. The villager from the Land of Grass during the Third Shinobi World War. There were tears streaming from her crumpled, pretty face.

"Tamuki… please… don't let me die."

Tojike watched his Sensei's expression turn to horror. She faltered at the illusion, twitching in disbelief. Manzu, unable to see the genjutsu, lunged at her back with three fingers extended, the tips glowing with purple energy.

In a blink Tamuki recovered, reaching behind her and catching Manzu's wrist. She skidded forward and threw the girl past her, the momentum sending her crashing into Tojike. She cried out and he grunted, they slid along the ground into a pile, wincing painfully. Her elbow was in his side and chin jabbing his sternum. Tojike's eyes snapped open in fear.

The Zero-Tails was cackling madly from within and he was overwhelmed by the darkness that was blowing past him. Fury and pain, he could sense it clearly. He looked up at Tamuki who was standing stock-still, face lowered. A long silence passed and Tojike felt too frightened to speak. The others could feel it too, but not as clearly as he could.

"The training… is over." Tamuki enunciated coldly, raising her head to show a look of hate. "Leave this place. I want the three of you to get out of my sight. Right now."

* * *

 **AN: Wow FanFiction stuffed up big time. This chapter was done a few days ago but wouldn't let me upload documents or pictures. Thanks to my first reviewer/follower/favoriter Stryker23. Hopefully I get some more. Tojike's jutsu is definitely effective, even if Tamuki-Sensei saw through it in the end. What did you think of the fight? Leave a review, kudasai ne ~ !**

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	3. Rival Team Two

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ـم _03_ ـم

 _Rival Team Two..._

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Tojike stared at the ground as the three Genin trudged through the village. Shoppers and passers-by eyed the teenagers in their battle-torn ninja gear. The other two were worried, but Tojike's black fringe of hair concealed his haunted yellow eyes. _I fucked up. I single-handedly ruined things for my entire team_. This was the problem with harbouring a creature such as the Zero-Tails. Tojike was permanently off-kilter when it came to decisions about the feelings of others. For a long time he battled with the heavy blanket of numbness that kept him down, in his younger years he was so distracted by his own inner-world that he'd thoughtlessly say negative (but true) things to anyone who tried to get to know him. The inner cynic that always leaked out when Tojike wasn't careful was another reason he didn't make friends. _But regardless… what I did to Tamuki-Sensei was clearly taking it too far. My team must hate me._

"Hey Tojike… you okay?" Kawari looked politely inquisitive. Manzu was concerned. They were walking ahead of him, glancing back.

"Ah… yeah. Sorry, I'm just worried about Tamuki's decision."

"You don't have to be sorry about it." Manzu closed her eyes kindly.

"Well not much we can do about it now." Kawari stated. "I don't think we need to worry though, the three of us _kicked ass_. I mean, the plan didn't work in the end, but we're three inexperienced Genin going up against a Jonin. We did great, considering. And our teamwork was great too. She can't expect us to be legends already. I'd say she's definitely gonna take us on." That confidence of his was pungent.

"Most likely," Manzu said in a critical voice. "But I guess Tamuki-Sensei is a bit strange… She really fought us full-on. I don't think many Jonin would go that far just to test the skills of potential students."

Tojike lowered his head again. He'd briefly been able to disrupt the flow of Tamuki's chakra during the genjutsu. He hadn't been aiming at his other two comrades, so they didn't know what Tamuki had seen. _That_ could be reason enough for her not to want them. Tojike wondered if he should tell them…

"Hey guys, where are we even going?" Kawari stopped and so did the others.

"I don't know." Manzu shrugged. "If we're not going to spend more time together… I guess I'll just go home and practice."

"We should get to know each other better! Even if Tamuki-Sensei rejects us _we're_ still going to be a team until another Jonin comes along. Let's get something to eat!"

"Sure." Manzu smiled at him.

Tojike watched the two of them blankly. _Hmm… my team-mates are actually pretty nice_. He was pleasantly surprised.

The three of them headed for the dumpling store at the street corner that Kawari frequented. Tojike had only been there a few times before, but he liked their food. He spent another minute brooding but when he noticed the Zero-Tails energy expanding outside him he quickly pulled it back and changed the subject of his thoughts. By now he was good at sensing when the Reibi started oozing out and effecting others. Instead of worrying about Tamuki he kept himself in the present – right now he was going to have a meal with his two new friends.

"Yesssssss! I've got a mad dango craving after getting worn out in that fight!" Kawari stared over the shoulders of the customers in front as the workers busied about. "You guys gotta try them!"

This place had a long angular counter with booths beside wide windows, an undercover outdoor eating area with specials on eye-grabbing pin-boards. Families and couples eating socially.

"If you say so." Manzu looked up and studied the menu.

Kawari was practically drooling when the men in front left and they could order. Afterwards they took a number and slid into one of the booths. Comfortable leather seats under a hanging lamp-light. Kawari took one side, Tojike slid over to the window so Manzu could sit beside him.

"I'm so pumped to be in a team now! We're gonna get training and become strong! We're also gonna leave the village on our first ever B-ranked mission soon!"

"You think?" Tojike was worried.

"Not until our sensei thinks we're ready." Manzu told me.

"Right now is the time we get experience!" Kawari leaned forward and rested his elbow on the table. "And after that we get to take… the Chunin exam!"

"Well I'm not doing something that dangerous until I feel ready." Manzu straightened. "People die in that exam. And the entire team needs to compete."

"You might feel different about it in a couple of months…" He cocked his head.

"Maybe." Manzu allowed and looked away to study the other patrons.

Tojike watched the boy in front of him quietly. He was lucky to have such an attractive boy in his team to look at. Kawari was probably one of those arrogant ninja, but he didn't seem aggressive about it. Mostly, he seemed warm. Tojike studied his appearance again. That tan skin, untidy brown hair and chocolate eyes. The fit body under his martial arts uniform. Kawari was nice to look at. When his eyes flickered to Tojike the latter jumped in his seat and blushed.

"You're a pretty quiet guy, Tojike." Kawari stated.

"Ah… yeah."

"Are you just shy around new people?"

"No, I guess I've never been much of a people person." Tojike excused lamely, staring out the window.

Manzu was looking at him. He wondered what she thought of Kawari, whether she also considered him attractive. She seemed unfazed. More restrained than the other boy. In Kawari's case, Tojike couldn't tell if he was thinking about stuff like that. Manzu and Kawari both seemed to have very different characters. He doubted they'd be romantically drawn to each other. Tojike felt the need to speak up again, to shift the subject away from his strangeness.

"Our techniques did complement each other well. Apart from basic taijutsu and weapon skills, I'd still consider myself a support-based ninja. Ninjas like that don't become Chunin."

"Chunin need to be good all-rounders." Manzu agreed. "They need to be strong on their own, but they also need intelligence, resourcefulness and team-work. That comes with training and experience."

"Well lucky for me I already have all those skills!" The Senju boasted. Manzu looked sceptical. He leaned forward "I was dominating in that match against Tamuki-Sensei."

"You're pretty good to be able to use those different earth jutsu." Tojike admitted. The guy was already confident enough, but Tojike couldn't deny it. "It's impressive. Most Genin can't do that."

"Do you guys know your chakra element affinity?"

"It was pretty clear in my academy days that I was suited to Yin Release." Tojike explained, lifting his hand and then lowering it to the table. "I always did very well at the basic genjutsu skills. I can create illusions and stuff, but my clan didn't have any secret techniques. Unless Tamuki knows any good genjutsu that she's willing to teach me, or I come across a genjutsu master willing to train me, then there isn't much I can do. Genjutsu is mostly indirect, support-type skills anyway."

"Yin release isn't common." Manzu agreed. "And genjutsu is the rarest of the three ninja skills." She turned her attention to Kawari. "Even if you know your element affinity it doesn't mean you'll be good at change in chakra nature. Most people will only be good at augmenting other jutsu with it."

"Well Tamuki-Sensei could do wind and water. Maybe more. We'll have to see, but don't give up on being a Chunin so soon Tojike." Kawari said levelly. His face broke out into joy when he could see their food coming.

Under Kawari's recommendation they'd all ordered a side-helping of dango, two sticks piercing three round dumplings topped with sauce (although Kawari ordered three sticks). Kawari had ordered a plate of tempura – battered prawns – with a dipping sauce for himself. Manzu had a row of salmon and cucumber sushi. Tojike was given his pair of onigiri, rice triangle moulds with tuna inside that you picked up by a rectangle of seaweed underneath.

They ate together merrily, sharing the soy sauce on the table. Manzu swapped one of her sushi pieces for one of Kawari's tempura, because he liked the way it looked and she hadn't tried the prawns here before. Tojike finished eating before the others, he hadn't ordered much and his meal choice was plain. He'd never been much of an eater. The other two finished not long after and they got up to pay for their meals. The ryou coins in Tojike's little pouch was just enough to cover the cost of his meal. He suspected that the other two didn't give large amounts of their mission money to their parents, unlike him. He didn't mind, his family didn't make a lot.

They were walking out together, still not ready to go their separate ways. Heading down one of the dirt alley-streets toward a park Kawari wanted to show them. Their peaceful walk was disrupted when a kunai flew between them and landed in the ground ahead.

Tojike's eyes widened in shock, he and the others whipped around. The alley was empty, as Tojike scanned the backs of the buildings he could see a boy smirking at them, sitting atop a water silo. He was a Genin like them, from the academy. Tojike felt his eyes narrow at the guy's smug expression. He looked mean, and Tojike could tell… he was mean. He was a good judge of character. The darkness he sensed inside that boy was worse than your average trouble-maker.

"What the hell is your problem?" Manzu shouted angrily.

"So this is Team Three? You guys look like a bunch of losers to me." His black hair was spiky, those dark eyes mischievous and cold. Tojike's eyes narrowed further. _Isn't he…?_ "My name's Zakuyo Uchiha."

"An Uchiha…?" Kawari muttered.

"And you're one of those dirty Senju." The ruffian leant forward, the smile gone as he aimed a hateful glare at Kawari.

"What do you have against Senju?" Kawari demanded.

Two other ninja could be seen on the roof above Zakuyo. A brunette girl and white-haired boy, both frowning. They didn't have the same ominous darkness as the Uchiha, who seemed to have established himself as top dog.

"Team Two is being led by an Uchiha while Team Three has a scummy Senju." he barked.

"I'm not their leader. And we're both clans of the Hidden Leaf." Kawari snapped back.

"And the Uchiha are superior." He said, almost in reverence.

"You get an Uchiha to be Hokage and then I'll say they're just as good as the Senju."

"How dare you…" Zakuyo went livid. Tojike could feel the Zero-Tails reacting to his rage. He wanted to warn Kawari and Manzu, this guy wasn't normal. Zakuyo stood up and hopped off, gripping a drain pipe and sliding down to a veranda roof, stepping down and landing opposite them in a crouch. He stood up with a glare while the three ninjas looked defensive and wary. "You wanna see which one of us is the best?"

His challenge was directed at Kawari. Tojike had a basic understanding of the Uchiha's abilities. They had large chakra reserves like the Senju. They tended to possess more stamina, so talented in physical combat and fighting with weapons. Their clan had secret fire jutsu. The Leaf's police force was almost entirely made up of Uchiha, and Tojike had seen their red-eyed Sharingan before. The infamous eye jutsu wasn't like the Byakugan which was common in members of the Hyuga clan. The Sharingan was rarer and awakened through trauma which was why many members of the police force had it, being survivors of the Third Shinobi War. It seemed unlikely Zakuyo had awakened the Sharingan as a mere teenager, but both Kawari and Manzu had exceptional secret skills… if he was a prodigy like them, maybe he did have those fearsome eyes.

"Zakuyo! Don't fight them here!" The white-haired boy warned. Him and the girl watched on anxiously from above. The Uchiha's eyes didn't stray from Kawari who glared back.

"That's enough, Zakuyo…" The four of them turned as a Jonin casually stepped out from the shadows. He was wearing a Leaf flak-jacket and an eyepatch over his left eye. It was the bald Jonin that'd waved at Tamuki earlier at the acadmey.

Zakuyo fired him a hateful glare. Kawari and Manzu seemed to relax, but Tojike didn't. Now that he was focusing on the Jonin he sensed a suspicious darkness inside him as well. Something unsavoury.

"I apologize for Zakuyo's rudeness." Casual, hands in his pockets. "He tends to get pretty… riled up. We'll leave you in peace." He looked at his other two pupils who lowered their heads, scolded. Zakuyo's resentment didn't change. The Sensei turned on his heel. "Come on."

He started walking away and their new rival shot them a deadly glare before leaving. The other two Genin turned away and out of view. The three Genin watched the teacher and student depart before facing each other.

"That guy is a dick." Manzu announced. "A massive tool."

"I could've taken him." Kawari grumbled, he continued off and the other two followed. He bent down and fished the kunai out of the ground, sticking his finger in the end and twirling it a bit before catching the handle in his palm. He cracked a smile.

"What is it?" Tojike asked.

"That Jonin… his name's Fuzaki. He's from my clan. A few of the Jonin are Senju, still I think it's funny that a guy who hates Senju is stuck with one for a teacher."

"That is pretty funny." Manzu commented as they headed out of the alley and moved down another main street. "You okay, Tojike? You're zoning out again."

Tojike lifted his head. He'd been pondering the suspicious evil coming from Zakuyo and his teacher, Fuzaki. Then he considered something else and smiled.

"Actually… I'm glad. I was thinking this before but that encounter just confirmed it. I feel bad for the other two members of Team Two. I get along really well with you guys. You seem like genuinely nice people." They both grinned at him and Tojike could feel their sense of camaraderie growing.

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at his desk, fingers resting on the Hokage hat in front of him. The middle-aged man was frowning in his office, contemplating. Tamuki stood glaring at the wall opposite while Baki the racoon was huddled on the edge of the desk. With a sigh the Jonin reached into her pouch and pulled out a metal flask, unscrewing the top and bringing the alcohol to her lips. Hiruzen watched her with a frown.

"The team I assigned to you isn't like any of the others." He grunted, twining his fingers and sitting straight. "With the other ninja teams we tried to create a balance of strength. Your students… are different."

"Trust me." Tamuki replied after another gulp of liquor. "I noticed."

"Then you understand why these special teenagers need special training. No ordinary Jonin would be fit to handle their… abilities." As he spoke Tamuki eyed the roof absently.

"Kawari Senju. He's from the same clan as the first two Hokage. He's inherited the skill of the Senju. At first glance he seems like a genius. Advanced skills at taijutsu and even the ability to perform multiple earth jutsu."

"He's been taught techniques by different members of his clan and other ninja. He's spent a lot of his time training in the forest. He was more driven than his classmates while in the academy. Part natural talent but also a lot of hard work."

"On the surface…" Tamuki continued. "But the main thing that makes him so special is his body's weird ability to absorb nature energy on instinct. How do you explain that?"

"There's no doubt that the Senju is an extraordinary clan… when you factor in the rumours of the Sage of Six Paths. Amongst the Senju especially, you tend to get anomalies. Kawari's power is some kind of genetic defect. If the Senju indeed possess the sage chakra and body of the legendary first shinobi… you can see how this might happen. Regardless, I don't believe Kawari is even aware that he's using natural energy."

"He doesn't know?" Tamuki exclaimed in surprise.

"No. That boy is absorbing and melding it with his chakra on pure instinct. Usually sage chakra is extremely dangerous to learn. Not even you were deemed worthy by the racoon Master Gamu to learn sage jutsu. But Kawari does it so flawlessly, yet minutely, that his body must carry some form of random genetic anomaly. Not unlike the first hokage Hashirama who was the only one to use wood style."

"Well I agree he's special." Tamuki lowered her gaze. "So is Manzu Uzumaki. Mr Baki witnessed something truly astounding." The racoon nodded his head sombrely and Hiruzen's eyes flickered between them. "We knew her raw amount of life energy was suspicious, even for an Uzumaki. She has the potential to live longer than Mito did. Also she's mastered several non-combative but advanced sealing jutsu. She even developed a technique that she tried to seal my chakra with, and I think it would've worked if she'd managed to place it properly. An Uzumaki like her… that level of skill reminds me of Kushina."

"Is that so…?" Hiruzen mumbled.

"I'm not finished. That's still just the surface of it." Tamuki stated seriously. She wound back the cap of her flask and tucked it away. "Mr Baki saw her using the reanimation jutsu to heal her team-mate."

"Reanimation?" Hiruzen leaned back, startled. "How on earth could that girl perform that? It's a forbidden jutsu!"

"The principles of the technique are simple enough. You master control of your life force, imbue it with chakra and channel it into someone else. To use it effectively takes years of practice. It can heal serious or mortal injuries but usually has extreme negative consequences even if the caster doesn't die. Manzu can use her excessive natural lifeforce to use it for healing."

"That's the most reckless thing I've ever heard!" Hiruzen shouted.

"Healing is a basic use for such a remarkable power. Manzu needs to be guarded carefully. With an ability like that… if an enemy village ever got their hands on her… or god forbid, someone like Orochimaru… they could use her to revive a dead kage. Reanimation only works on the recently deceased, but I believe with her power she could return vitality to a skeleton in exchange for her own life. With such unusual chakra I'd say Manzu is also some kind of random genetic mutation. How did she come to be a part of our village?"

"Her family were refugees of the Hidden Eddy before it was destroyed in the war. Many Uzumaki spread about the world in hiding… Manzu and her family travelled here by chance." Hiruzen muttered.

"Then that just leaves Tojike Kohaku." Tamuki crossed her arms in disdain. "Jinchuuriki of the Zero-Tails. His team-mates don't know. He has an aptitude for genjutsu, but no remarkable talent. The only thing remarkable about him is his ability to completely restrain and hide the Reibi's chakra within him. Not many would be able to do that, and he was very young when his own clan sealed it in him. Barbaric, but now of course the Kohaku clan is extinct. Apart from him. Tojike has no access to the Zero-Tail's chakra reserves, and I don't know if he ever will. Tojike… can use mental power of the Reibi… to an extent." Tamuki looked aggressively distant for a moment before snapping back. "But even as a Jinchuuriki, I think he is and will be, the weakest member of the team."

"Time will tell." Hiruzen said seriously, resting his clasped hands over his chin.

They were silent for a long moment. "Tamuki… These students need a special teacher. They were grouped together for reasons other than their unusual powers. The Senju's sage chakra… and the Uzumaki's sealing abilities… will be very important if the Zero-Tails ever finds a way to break free of Tojike's restraint. That means Kawari and Manzu will have to be told the truth. I chose you to be their teacher because I knew how dedicated you are to protecting the village. Despite everything that's happened to you, you still uphold the values of the Will of Fire. I can't make you take these students… it's up to you. Tamuki Shimura… what is your decision?"

Lowering her head she sighed, reaching up to itch the bridge of her nose. She stared at the black smudge from around her eyes and rolled it across her thumb.

"If I leave them to somebody else they'll half-ass it." Tamuki muttered. "It's not going to be easy… but I'll take them on as my students." She looked up, determined. "I'll turn them into fine shinobi."

"You were always like this, Tamuki." Hiruzen observed with a smile. "Hard to convince but once you made a decision you never wavered or backed down. I know you'll be the kind of teacher these teenagers need. What's more… having your own team could be good for you too."

Tamuki said nothing. Baki the racoon sighed and rested his face in his tiny paw.

"Jeez… we're sure to have our work cut out for us now."

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 **AN: Yay! Thanks to my new reviewer/follower/favoriter Phoenix Flametail! And thanks to Stryker23 for reviewing again! I only update stories for the reviewers, so hopefully the readership will grow. I think the character development is going well so far. What do you guys think?**

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	4. The First Mission!

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ـم _04_ ـم

 _The First Mission!_

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"Tojike." A knock on his door and the light switched on. Tojike blinked awake, staring up at the roof blurrily.

"Hn?" He rolled over to see his Dad looking surprised and serious.

"A Chunin from the village headquarters gave me this." He raised a slip of paper in his hand. "He wants you to report to the Hokage immediately for your first team mission. Somewhere outside the village, he said it was a B-rank."

Tojike blinked a couple more times before the alertness settled in. Throwing his blankets off he leapt up and started rummaging through the clothes in his drawer. _Crap! It's already late into the morning!_ He could tell from the bright sunlight seeping in from his window. He moved as quick as he could, and since he didn't have time for a proper shower he used soapy water from the sink before coating his body in roll-on deodorant. Barging open the door with his shoulder while tying on his ninja headband, hopping down the stairs in urgency.

"Good luck on your first mission, Tojike!" His Mum said proudly. "Be sure to stay safe."

"I will!" He moved in to hug both his parents, a rare thing. "When I get back we can use the extra money to go out somewhere nice for dinner."

They smiled at him and Tojike ran to the door, grabbing his shoes and slipping them on. He felt around to make sure he had everything he needed and then bolted out the door. _I'd better run so I don't keep the Hokage waiting_. His parents didn't understand that B-rank missions were not at all safe, but he wasn't going to worry them. He ran down the dirt street, weaving around the walkers and up the steps to the headquarters. He'd been in here plenty of times before and took the stairs quickly, racing past curious ninjas and skidding to a stop in the long room where missions were signed out.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up from behind the long table and smiled under the traditional Hokage hat. Beside him were teachers from the academy and other Chunin processing the paperwork.

"Good of you to join us, Tojike."

"Sorry." He entered the room and saw his team waiting. Kawari gave him that confident smirk while Manzu surveyed his harried appearance. Tamuki-Sensei eyed him without emotion, her arms crossed. _She decided to accept us after all?_ Tojike went to stand beside his comrades and they faced their superiors.

"For your first mission Tamuki has opted for a B-rank." Hiruzen knitted his fingers together. "As timing would have it such a mission has just become available. There is a farming village called Anbuku that resides in the Fire Country by the border of the Land of Rivers. It is predominantly rice-fields. They are being frequently robbed by bandits who need to be captured or eliminated. The area isn't wealthy. There have been known instances of robbers along the trade routes so this mission is B-ranked."

"We're going to fight a group of bandits?" Tojike stared.

"Yes. When you get to Anbuku their village council will be able to fill you in with more details. Since this is your first B-rank mission and we don't know much about these bandits or who they're working for, it's been decided that another team will follow after you once they've returned from their mission."

"Which team is that?" Kawari asked as the three stiffened nervously.

"Fuzaki Senju's team two." _Of course_.

"We'll have the mission completed before Fuzaki's team gets there." Tamuki was confident. "Is that all?"

"Yes. It'd be best for you to leave immediately to save time. After completing the mission you will each receive the additional ryou reward money for the B-rank mission." He smiled at them. "Good luck."

"Thank you, Lord Hokage."

The four ninjas headed off, Tamuki leading them with her scowl and awkwardly-hunched posture. Tojike felt excitement despite the danger they were about to face. This was what being a ninja was all about. They couldn't let their guard down for a moment. Together they were going to figure out a plan of attack, take down the mobsters and free the innocent farmers of Anbuku. As they stepped down the stairs an office assistant presented them with backpacks full of supplies and rations for the trip. After gearing up and leaving the building Tojike felt determined. Manzu was quiet. Kawari looked over to reveal the same determination.

"Our first real mission. I can't wait. Hey sensei, how long is this trip supposed to take?"

"A couple of days on foot. Depends how many breaks we take and whether we want to stop at proper lodgings."

"I don't mind camping out in the forest if it means we'll get to Anbuku faster." Kawari glanced back at Manzu and Tojike who conceded with nods.

"Then we might make it in two." Tamuki's dark eyes studied them amid her oval smudges. "We can fit in a bit of training on the way, as well."

"Awesome!" Kawari was pumped for it now.

"These raids against Anbuku have been happening once or twice a month for the last three months. I read the Hokage's file." Tamuki explained, looking forward again. "It won't matter if we take an extra day or so to get there."

"So long as we beat team two…" Manzu muttered under her breath.

The four set out on foot, out through the wide open gate and into the woodlands. They talked as freely as they had yesterday and Tamuki spoke to them as well, albeit in her subdued manner. As soon as he stepped foot outside the village Tojike felt another pulse of energy. Dark energy, the Zero-Tails coiling in excitement.

 _Who will you face in this mission? Whose darkness will allow me to feed…?_

"Alright. From here we're going to move quickly." Tamuki turned around to face her students. "There's no rush, but still, I want to make sure you guys have the stamina and chakra control to be fast."

"You want to see if we can keep up?" Kawari raised his chin.

"It's not just about speed. You have to be consistently fast and keep up with the rest of your team. A slow ninja will be left behind, or worse… drag down the rest of the team. When moving collectively in the forest you need to focus on multiple things: awareness of your surroundings while jumping between branches, chakra control that effects leaping and grip, awareness of the location of your team-mates and the direction of your destination. All of this _and_ speed. For the next few hours we'll be moving quickly. This is important training, and I expect each of you to keep up."

The three Genin looked serious. Tamuki was different now that she'd agreed to be their sensei. Even if she was willing to talk freely now she was still all-business when it came to their training. Tamuki faced the trees beside the path.

"Alright. Let's go!" She pushed off and flew to a tall branch, jumping away. Kawari then Manzu blasted off after her.

Tojike focused chakra to his feet and aimed, timing the burst with his jump so he flew through the air. He changed the chakra to the correct amount so as to stick to the branch once he landed. Instantly spotting his next footing and re-adjusting his chakra control, leaping and landing. He picked up his pace to not be left behind.

The three Genin were well-versed in the art of tree-climbing. As well as pushing off and moving quickly. They were able to keep up with Tamuki, but Tojike was sure that doing so for hours was a big ask. The four leapt between branches several metres above the ground as the afternoon settled in, occasionally startling possums and scattering birds. Manzu lost her footing against a branch but managed to launch herself back up from a trunk and re-join them, alert again. This practice was second-nature to ninja, but with their level of experience they could still mess up if they stopped paying attention. Tojike's hunger didn't help things – as their exercise wore on his stomach began to audibly gurgle.

 _Surely we're gonna stop soon and eat?_

The training continued and Kawari started to fumble. Missing branches, swinging off them with his arms instead, or landing wrong. Sometimes using too much chakra and scuffing up the bark. Tojike was last because he was the most cautious, barely fumbling at all. All three of them were sweating and panting but didn't want to be the one to ask Tamuki for a break. Their Sensei seemed fine under the exertion, remaining stoic and impassive. At one point Kawari landed with too much force and his branch snapped off, he cursed and almost fell, rolling instead and launching back up from another tree.

"Getting tired there, Kawari?" Manzu said with a competitive smirk. "Maybe you should ask Sensei for a break?"

"Dream on, Manzu!" The challenge lit a fire in him and the two became even more determined.

 _Jeez_ , Tojike thought glumly. _I'm gonna have to be the one to ask… No. I refuse to be the weakest one here. I have to keep up with the rest of the team_.

Tojike battled through the exhaustion and kept going. Eventually they reached a stream and Tamuki slowed down, swinging off a branch and landing on one of the massive grey boulders. The tree roots wrapped around the series of rocks, green moss coating the base and ground. What sounded like a waterfall further up-stream.

"We'll have a break here." Tamuki stood out of her crouch and put her hands on her hips, watching the flowing water. "You all did very well, I'm impressed." She turned around and blinked in surprise. Her students were on their butts, hands and knees while panting heavily. "…You sure exhausted yourselves though."

Tojike was breathing so hard he was choking, but managed to calm down after a moment. They took off their backpacks and fished out their water canisters.

"Tojike… you're going to have to… pour the water in for me…" Kawari panted while lying on his back.

"Here…" Manzu shuffled over on her knees. "Having a lot of chakra doesn't help if you don't control it effectively. That's why Tojike barely stuffed up at all…" She held out her water, hand shaking so much she gripped her wrist. Kawari watched her with one eye closed. Manzu tried to pour carefully into his open mouth but still spilt water over his face, causing Kawari to shoot up and cough.

Tojike couldn't help laughing and then Manzu started up as well. Kawari moaned in frustration while wiping the water off his face. Tamuki observed them with a wry smile.

"You three seem to get along well." She observed. Then she stepped toward them. "We'll eat here and recover. Then walk until sunset and set out the camping gear."

"Alright."

"Cool…"

Their rations included dry crackers, little tins of something and rice balls. At the bottom of his bag's contents Tojike found the prize: a wrapped pork bun. He was trying to save his food but downed two rice balls in a matter of seconds. He barely even tasted them, what seemed like minced beef was in the centre of the globs.

"You guys are going to run out of food before we get there." Manzu said.

"Maybe we'll pass a village, that way we can buy something." Kawari's mouth was full as he spoke "Depending how far off the trail we get."

Tojike bit into his pork bun then hesitated. He didn't have any more money for food. He finished half of the bun before wrapping and tucking it away. When they stopped eating Tamuki called the trio over from the rushing stream. Tojike stood and dusted the crumbs off his hands, jumping up and over the boulder after his team-mates. Tamuki stood on the other side. The boulders were as big as houses, Tamuki was at an incline but stood straight with her arms crossed.

"Okay team. I'm sure all of you are proficient at the basic ninja techniques you needed to graduate from the academy. Ninjutsu, Taijutsu and Genjutsu. I'm sure that over the years you've been doing solo missions, you've also been refining your skills. My primary goal is to make you into fine shinobi. Meaning you will be strong and an asset to the village."

Tamuki closed her eyes in thought "With that said… you've still got a long way to go. Before we focus on your individual strengths and mastering a powerful jutsu, _all_ of your skills need to be at an acceptable level, so you're well-rounded no matter what enemy you face." Her dark eyes opened. "What I'm saying is: before I can teach you to be strong, first I need to teach you how to not die."

Tojike gulped, all three of them were a mixture of worry and excitement.

"So…" Tamuki regarded them from across the stream. "I want each of you to tell me honestly what your skills are in those three categories. I got a pretty good idea of your taijutsu level when we fought in the training area." She stared at Kawari who was standing on the right and waited for him to speak.

"I'm good at taijutsu!" He stated proudly, punching his chest.

"My taijutsu could be improved." Manzu admitted.

"My taijutsu…" Tojike hesitated "is mediocre, at best."

"Taijutsu is essential." Tamuki was looking straight at Tojike. "When you're in a situation where your techniques and the techniques of your enemy cancel each other out, or if you've run out of chakra, taijutsu may be your only option. Of the three skills it takes up the least amount of chakra, so it's also the sensible option in many situations. I hope you understand how imperative it is to improve on this, Tojike."

"Yes, Sensei." Tojike conceded.

"Right. Now, how about genjutsu?"

"I'm not good at genjutsu." Kawari tilted his head meekly.

"I'm above average." Manzu stated.

"I have a high aptitude for genjutsu." It felt good for Tojike to say that.

"Of the three skills genjutsu is the least important." Tamuki went on to say. "But it is still imperative. At the very least you must know how to cancel it. You could be a master at ninjutsu and taijutsu, but if you don't have skill in genjutsu, you could be taken out by someone with moderate skill level. The Genjutsu Release Jutsu can remove most illusion-based genjutsu, with practice it can break stronger and stronger ones. Unfortunately, if you find yourself up against a genjutsu master there's not much you can do but try to play the game their way, if you can't break the technique. Do you understand, Kawari?"

"Ah, yeah."

"Not only for this reason, but small genjutsu at decisive moments can create an opening for victory." She turned her head. "As for your ninjutsu?"

"I'm good at close-range and mid-range!" Kawari boasted.

"I only know a few good ninjutsu techniques, and I need to be up-close to use them." Manzu admitted.

"Apart from academy ninjutsu… like cloning shuriken and substitution… I have no real Ninjutsu abilities." Tojike said.

"Right, well, that's going to change." Tamuki said seriously. "Ninjutsu trumps taijutsu in most situations. It also has real-world effects, unlike genjutsu. It is a ninja's signature skill. In time I will make sure each of you know at least one high-level jutsu you can depend on, even if it's just to be used as a final resort."

"Awesome!" Kawari raised his fists eagerly.

"Apart from these three skills there are other things that will help keep you from dying. Skill with weapons is one. For example, I'm adept in fighting styles involving windmill shuriken. Chakra can be funnelled into weapons for various purposes and this can help improve and cover up weaknesses with taijutsu. Intelligence and cunning is also _very_ important. Resourcefulness. And also, planning. These intellectual skills are the hardest to train, however. If you don't have a good head on your shoulders there's not much you can do. But it's good to be aware of that, so you don't take as many risks."

Tamuki raised a finger then lowered it to her side. "Lastly… chakra control. Perhaps the most important at your current stage. Some ninja can even make it to Chunin with terrible chakra control. Sure they can use it to increase their strength and for climbing, but if they naturally possess a lot of chakra and know powerful jutsu they can cover up this weakness. The problem with this is…" Tamuki's eyes narrowed "in a drawn-out situation, or long battle… say, _war_ , for example. They will wear themselves out and die. A jutsu they can only perform twice could be used as much as seven times if they had the proper control. And with absolute mastery and precision, even twelve times. Do you guys understand what I'm saying?"

"Yeah…" The three of them nodded.

"How well can you walk on water?"

"Ah…" The three of them looked at each other, Manzu responded "Alright, but I can't move as fast while doing it."

"I can only do it for a limited amount of time." Kawari itched the back of his head.

"Can you stand still on moving water?" Tamuki asked and then walked down the drop, the incline sharpening until she was at a right-angle to the water, stepping out and straight again. She walked over and stopped in front of them, unaffected by the running water that splashed lightly around her shoes. She made it look effortless.

"Well… I don't think I could make it look that easy." Tojike answered.

"This is one of the skills I'm going to teach you. Water surface walking is the best training for precision with chakra control, it needs constant focus and readjustment. We're not going to practice this today, without a proper place to sleep tonight it'd mean you'd be sleeping in wet clothes. Instead we're going to walk from here, then stop before sunrise. We'll throw out a tarp for the night and do different training before bed."

 _Hmmm what training?_ Tojike wondered.

"Let's go!" Tamuki leapt up, shooting over their heads and landing above them. She glanced back, the overhead sun shining down. "I hope you'll all pay attention to this. It may seem trivial now, but in the midst of a life-or-death situation it'll be these lectures you'll be trying to remember to save your life. Take it from an experienced Jonin, and one that's fought in war."

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 **AN: I updated thanks to Stryker23's consistent feedback. Also I'm enjoying exploring the Naruto universe this way. Who will the team meet on their journey? Don't know what to put in a review? Why not tell me what you think of the characters, or who's your favorite.**

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	5. One-on-one Training

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ـم _05_ ـم

 _One-on-one Training_

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The four-ninja squad found a hiker's path and spent the afternoon walking. Tamuki led them silently – never one for chit-chat. She kept her sullen racoon-painted face forward and walked with her arms bent, hands in her pockets. Tojike found it comfortable and easy to slip into his thoughts, daydreams. From behind him Manzu had silently observed the forest, but it was much the same and after half-an-hour she was just looking at the ground. Kawari managed to be silent for a while, but then he had his arm out, trailing through bushes and picking off leaves. Sighing, he was bored.

"So… is there a general plan about what we're going to do about these bandits?"

"Not until the villagers give us information." Tamuki replied.

"Ah, cool cool." Kawari started bouncing his fist against his thigh. "… and what's the training we're gonna do before bed?"

"One hour." Tamuki sighed.

"Huh?"

"It seems like the maximum amount of time you can keep quiet before you get annoying. Depending on what missions we end up doing, we might be travelling lots. If you want to chat," she looked over her shoulder. "Try the others. Otherwise you'll have to suck it up and stay quiet."

"Oookay…" He answered and Tamuki faced forward.

Kawari scooted up until he was beside Manzu, Tojike lagged closer as well. Manzu and Kawari were able to talk about the upcoming mission and what they knew about the distant villages in the area. They also talked about their fighting experience. Tojike joined in a bit but mostly listened. Kawari did seem to have the least amount of patience, luckily for him Manzu didn't mind talking so long as it was relevant to the mission. A few hours more and Kawari started to get weird from the boredom. Tojike was bored, a little irritated, but he still managed to keep up without acting up. Kawari was talking loudly about the other teams, his competition, Manzu replied with either ' _hmm_ ' or nothing at all. That was about the time Tojike started humouring him.

There was something attractive about his energy. Tojike was probably a natural submissive, he found it a little exciting to passively absorb Kawari's forcefulness in conversation. How strange. It might have something to do with Kawari's good-looking face, skin, body. Tojike listened to the other boy in his team as he rambled about whatever was on his mind. The attraction started to grow.

"Let's head off trail and find a place." Tamuki spoke up suddenly. She turned into the trees and they followed. Tamuki leapt up to a branch, flew past several more trees and then dropped down into a small grass clearing. "Here is fine. We'll set up camp here."

Her three students jumped through the forest after her and landed, taking off their backpacks. It looked like they still had an hour or two before sunset. Tamuki pulled out a tarp from her bag and hooked kunai to the corners, throwing them so they embedded into trunks and the material spread out. Manzu rolled out her sleeping bag, which looked quite thin. Kawari found a rock to sit on and was already eating his pork bun. Tamuki sprung into one of the tall trees and started walking up to the top, she disappeared through the foliage but Tojike could see the top branch bending under her weight. Their sensei seemed to be surveying the area.

Tojike drank from his water canister as he approached Manzu. The red-haired girl was flattening out her sleeping bag.

"Guess we're going to find out what the training is."

"Guess so."

"I don't feel sleepy, but there's not much we'll be able to do after dark unless we make a fire."

"Maybe we can tell scary stories."

Tamuki landed in a crouch in the middle of the clearing. She stretched out of it slowly, turning her neck so it clicked.

"Alright, gather round!" She called. Manzu and Tojike stopped what they were doing and stepped over, Kawari quickly hid his food back inside his bag. He lined up beside them, unable to hide the fact his mouth was full. Tamuki eyed the three of them. "Before bed we are going to practice taijutsu. Hand-to-hand combat _without_ the use of chakra. We'll be fighting one-on-one. This is practice, no one is to take it too seriously or try too hard to win. Understand? We don't want any muscle sprains or injuries that will affect our abilities once we get to Anbuku."

"Sensei, what do you mean fighting one-on-one?" Manzu asked.

"I'm going to assess and advise Manzu on her taijutsu today. Since Kawari is the best at taijutsu he will spar with Tojike, who admitted he was the worst at it."

"I have to fight Kawari?" Tojike felt a bout of fear. Kawari swallowed his mouthful loudly.

"Because you all seem to get along I'm going to trust you now. This will help you improve, Tojike. As for you Kawari, I know this won't help you much but as it stands Tojike has a good chance at beating you in a proper fight because of his genjutsu. I can't significantly improve your genjutsu skill before we get to Anbuku so the survival of your team-mates is important for your survival as well."

Kawari's expression changed from curiosity to seriousness.

Tamuki stared at him "But I mean no injuries, got it?"

"Yes, sensei."

"Manzu and I will train over there. We'll keep at it until dark." And with that Tamuki turned away and paced to the other edge of the grassy clearing. Manzu hesitated and looked between the two boys.

"Good luck. At least you guys don't have to fight our sensei on your own." She watched her team-mates stay silent before hurrying after Tamuki to start her training.

Tojike would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't afraid. Going up against a Senju without using his genjutsu would be disastrous. Kawari was going to wipe the floor with him. Surely that was obvious. Instead of pitying Kawari looked serious and thoughtful, when his brown eyes flickered to Tojike they were stern. The two turned and faced each other. Tojike's brow twitched, he didn't want to do this. Even if he didn't get injured this was going to hurt.

Abruptly Kawari cracked a smile, stood with his legs apart and got his arms ready.

"Okay Tojike, I'm ready when you are."

"What are you, a sadist?" Tojike backed away.

"No, I just want to see what you're made of." He smirked. "Don't worry, to start with I'll just use defence."

"We already know what I'm made of!" Tojike felt himself getting angry. "None of this competition shit! You were able to fight toe-to-toe with Tamuki-sensei!"

"Tojike." Kawari's smile was gone. "We have to. Move."

Tojike grimaced and looked at the other two who were already exchanging blows. He sighed, the only way to overcome the fear of pain was to accept it and push forward anyway. Tojike readied himself, got his arms out. He dashed forward and saw the other boy readying himself. His feet skidded as Tojike threw a punch, Kawari weaved and Tojike felt a _whack_ to his chest, knocking him down on his ass and forcing the breath out of him.

Tojike gripped his chest and winced. Kawari had one foot forward and his palm extended.

"Shit…" Tojike moved his hands together and pushed his lower body up, lashing a kick that Kawari blocked with his elbow. Tojike bent his other leg and aimed another kick that Kawari caught, throwing Tojike's legs back then stomping down, Tojike rolled away and got back on his feet.

True to his word Kawari stood waiting with one arm out, the other behind his back. Waiting for Tojike to make the first move. _I can't hesitate_. Tojike ran for his opponent and leapt into a kick. Kawari stepped aside, Tojike pushed back with a strike that Kawari leaned away from. Tojike swung his arm wide and Kawari blocked, snagging Tojike's wrist and spinning, throwing Tojike around him so the victim stumbled but didn't fall. Tojike got his bearings and launched back, Kawari stepped forward and brushed away another fist, knocking the other arm away with his elbow and then palming Tojike in the sternum. Tojike flew onto his back with a grunt.

Kawari watched him expressionlessly. Tojike gripped his sternum while panting. _Kawari has a lot of strength, those muscles aren't just for show_. Tojike flipped up and punched. Kawari blocked with his palm. Tojike froze, grimacing, his eyes widening. _Kawari has the advantage of strength and speed… he's not taking this seriously at all_. Tojike's eyes narrowed and he jumped back, dashed to the side, launched forward and got tripped, skidding painfully and getting a mouthful of grass. He got up on all fours, spitting and gagging. He wiped his face before rolling forward, turning in his crouch to see the other boy waiting. _I'm getting completely dominated by him_.

Tojike shot forward to his opponent. _If I can just catch him off guard_. Once close he purposely took a misstep and changed position. _Maybe if I start with a feint_. Tojike punched at Kawari's side and the other boy blocked him at his elbow, stopping it short. _If instead of overpowering him, I target his balance_. Tojike shifted his stance and barged his other side. Kawari crouched lower, fell back on one hand and kicked out Tojike's leg. Another fall, another kick blocked. Tojike twisted, launched up and kicked in mid-air, Kawari blocked again with just his palm. Tojike elbowed out as he came down. Kawari stepped aside and did something that made Tojike fall hard. He stomped again but this time Tojike didn't roll and the air left him in a wheezy gasp.

Tojike curled painfully and rolled over while Kawari stepped back.

"There's no power to your kicks or punches." Kawari stated while watching.

" _Maybe not for someone like you…_ " Tojike choked out bitterly. His face was against the grass as he tried to pull himself together.

"…I'm not used to having to pull my punches. I haven't fought like this before."

"No kidding…" Tojike sat up, facing away. "We've only been at it for five minutes and you've taken me down a few times already…" He tried to recover but he was still aching. Kawari was silent for a moment.

"Tojike…"

"What?" He snapped, looking over his shoulder.

"Tamuki-sensei is probably right about what she said. Even with the skill and chakra of a Senju… out of everyone in our year at the academy, you'd probably be able to beat me. Easily."

"…Kawari?" Tojike's eyes widened in surprise. The other boy's serious eyes were cast downwards.

"Because of genjutsu. One of the three basic skills." He met Tojike's eyes. "So I'll help you with taijutsu. I'm not good at holding back, but I can give you tips. And in exchange you'll teach me genjutsu. Since you have a natural talent for it. Deal?"

Tojike blushed, a warm feeling spreading through his insides. Fighting against Kawari had made him feel absolutely useless, like he was a joke of a ninja. For all his bragging Kawari didn't enjoy embarrassing other people. In fact… Kawari had acknowledged Tojike. He was being completely serious about it, he wasn't trying to make Tojike feel better. The shame disappeared and for that Tojike felt thankful, even admiring. He stood back up on his feet.

"Deal." He smirked and the other boy returned it. They got back into their fighting stances.

As the evening wore on the boys continued training. Tojike was taken down plenty more times and even his few successful hits seemed to have no effect on Kawari. For each ineffective strike Tojike landed he received a hundred punishing blows. Their sweat was cool from the late breeze, Tojike could feel it slick on Kawari's tan arms when he was thrown down for the umpteenth time, the stronger boy's breath playing on Tojike's face after he'd been flipped over the other guy's shoulder. They were now facing each other, the exhaustion settling in. Kawari was resting an arm on his knee, leaning over Tojike after having him flipped. There was tightening pleasure down south, blood pumping a certain somewhere and Tojike sat up, blushing in embarrassment again. He wished Kawari wasn't so close at that moment, he could still feel the other boy's breath on his neck.

"This is tiring…" Kawari was staring out at Manzu and Tamuki as they jumped and flipped around. His untidy hair even messier from their rough-housing.

"I'm probably going to run out of energy before you." Tojike answered. Taking the brunt of their battle was wearing him down. Once the blood stopped pumping to his nether region Tojike's fear dissipated. He got back up on his feet. "I got an idea. Why don't I practice evasion instead?"

"Evasion?" Kawari was still on one knee, breathing out of his mouth.

"If I'm not naturally strong I should at least practice speed. And mostly, I should be able to dodge and avoid other taijutsu. Hopefully in that situation I'd be able to get away, hide, lure the enemy out again and trap them with my genjutsu."

Kawari looked down and thought. Then he stood up straight "Fine."

He performed the ram seal and Tojike copied it. He combined his stamina with his focus to generate more chakra, using his intention to spread it round his body to increase energy. Kawari flew at Tojike quickly, the latter stepping back in shock, getting elbowed in the middle. Tojike ducked under another open palm and jumped back, clutching his body. _The strength of just his palm matches my punches, what would his fists do to me?_

"If you want advice, Tojike, focus on your standing. A good stance increases power and blocking, but it also gives you a boost to escape. Taijutsu masters can tell what you're thinking by the position of your feet. They predict where you're gonna escape by your body language. If you want to evade keep your stance prepared but neutral, so you can dodge in any direction."

"Right."

Kawari flew at him again, in mid-air, flexing a kick that Tojike ducked under, darting backwards. Pushing away from another punch and side-stepping a flying knee. Tojike kept his gaze on his opponent while zig-zagging backwards, Kawari pressed on and it was all Tojike could do to keep his eyes on him. He jumped back from Kawari's hard pounce and ended up slamming painfully into the trunk of a tree. Tojike stiffened before crumpling down to his knees.

"Guess you gotta remember to pay attention to your surroundings as well." Kawari laughed and Tojike massaged the bruise on the back of his head with a groan.

When the orange sunset flared over the treetops they were achy and exhausted. Their movements had slowed down a lot. Tamuki walked over to finally let them off the hook. Manzu was on the other side of the field hunched over on her knees, battling her own tiredness. Tamuki was sweaty and flushed but otherwise fine, standing with her hands on her hips as she assessed them.

"You two did good." She observed while the boys struggled to their feet. They walked past Tamuki toward their bags under the tarp. "That's some bruise though… Kawari! What did I say about injuries?"

"Hey, it's not my fault! Tojike backed into a tree cause he wasn't paying attention!"

In the last of the light the three sat together, eating and taking big drinks from their precious supply of water. Tojike felt so tired he could barely lift his canister to his mouth, he chewed his food slowly. The other two teens were weary, blinking tiredly into the forest. Tamuki was up one of the tall trees, sitting against the trunk with her legs down a branch. Eating and staring off sideways into the sunset, it bathed her entire body in orange. Tojike and Kawari unrolled their sleeping bags around Manzu's. Stars were appearing in the night sky, more and more brightening into view. Tamuki had not come down from her tree and Tojike wasn't sure if their sensei was going to join them at all.

Tojike lay back in his bag and stared up at the litany of stars that were appearing overhead. It didn't look like it was going to rain, so he chose to sleep out from under the tarp, feeling more open to nature. His hands knitted together on his stomach as he gazed upward, blinking eyelids that grew heavier. The treetops billowing in the gentle wind. Tojike had never slept outside before.

"Goodnight guys…" Kawari yawned tiredly.

"Goodnight Kawari." Manzu replied. "Goodnight Tojike."

"Goodnight guys." Tojike whispered back.

He felt so comfortable then. His stomach was full and his sore body was warm in his sleeping bag atop the soft grass. He felt sensual, aroused even. Thinking of the beautiful boy whose body had been pressing and moving against his own for the last hour or so. The beautiful boy sleeping not far from him under the starlight. Guilty pleasures. In no time Tojike drifted off to sleep.

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 **AN: I'm thankful again to Stryker23 for being the only one who reviews my chapters. It'd be really cool if some of the other readers left feedback. It really helps my writing to know what people think of the characters and story. Anywho, I've just been rereading the Naruto manga so it's got me all interested in writing this!**

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	6. Arrival at Anbuku

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ـم _06_ ـم

 _Arrival at Anbuku_

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Team three rose early to continue their journey to Anbuku. Tamuki-sensei was up first, drinking tea from a miniature set she'd brought with her – complete with a miniature clay kettle, stand and cylinder cup. Tojike wasn't someone who enjoyed getting up early, and neither were Manzu or Kawari by the looks of it. Their intensive training before sleep could've easily been why they were still tired. Tojike was rubbing the crust from his eyes, vision blurry – that must've been why for a second he could've sworn that Tamuki-sensei had turned and poured a flask of alcohol into her tea. It must've been a trick of the eye.

"Come on, you three! Get moving!" Tamuki ground her heel into the little fire she'd made to boil her tea. She took another sip from her steaming cup.

"Yes, ma'am." Kawari muttered to himself as he finished rolling up his sleeping bag. Manzu finished packing away the tent and Tojike zipped up his backpack, slinging it over his shoulders.

"If we dash from here we might make it to Anbuku before nightfall."

"Are we gonna run the whole way?" Tojike couldn't hide the distress in his voice. It wasn't proper distress, the Reibi made it hard for him to feel any emotion too strongly, but his words were touched by it.

"We don't want to have to work with Team Two, do we?" Tamuki raised an eyebrow.

Tojike frowned. She had a point. Neither of them wanted to work with that crazy Uchiha or his teammates. Tamuki skulled the last of her cup and packed it away.

She turned "Alright, let's go!" and blasted off her feet, out of the clearing and into the treetops.

"Sensei, wait up!" Manzu called, and followed after Kawari. Tojike focused chakra to his feet and chased after them.

That day's travelling was focussed. There was no more speeches or training sessions. Just as well, Tojike still felt sore from sparring with Kawari. Although that night, and even after waking, he'd felt so sensual and aroused. Something to do with the wildness of sleeping outside in the forest, the warmth and comfort of his sleeping bag, the relaxation after the physical exhaustion, and… Kawari. His strength and good looks. While they were jumping between branches Tojike glanced at his back.

The Senju was relentless, competing with Manzu and remaining in the lead for the most part. He was competitive. Body toned beneath the pale-green martial arts uniform. A flush formed on Tojike's face, his heart racing in a way that had nothing to do with the physical exertion. Then his foot slipped.

His amber eyes widened, Tojike quickly funnelling chakra to his hand as he crouched against a trunk. He propelled himself back up, bark scuffling down from his slip-up. He pushed off a few more branches and caught back up to the rear of his group.

"You alright, Tojike?" Kawari smirked.

"Y-yeah." He averted his eyes, too embarrassed to look at the other boy.

Even though Tamuki didn't give them any extra lessons, Tojike still thought about what she'd said throughout the silence of their travelling. Taijutsu… Tojike needed to become stronger at it. That could only be done with training, but Kawari did promise to help in exchange for genjutsu training. Ninjutsu… Tamuki-sensei wanted each of them to have one high-level ninjutsu to fall back on. Chakra control… Tojike had pretty good control, it was necessary for the subtleties of sensory manipulation. But he could always be better.

This was the stuff he needed to work on to become a stronger shinobi. But with this in mind, he still didn't dream of becoming as strong as either of his team-mates. When his negativity made the Zero-Tails start to uncoil itself he quickly shifted to a new train of thought.

The day dragged on, rest breaks were few and far between. They crossed a few more rivers, appropriate as they were heading in the direction of the Land of Rivers. Tojike was exhausted, but his team-mates fought to keep the tiredness from their faces. The sun was near the horizon when Tamuki dropped to the ground and landed. Her students followed, breathing loudly.

"We can walk from here." Tamuki said without turning, then strolled along the path at a leisurely pace.

The forest had begun to thin an hour ago, as the four walked the trees became thinner still. The grass was longer, though the trail was earthy and damp. The minutes went by as they walked, then ahead the trees cleared completely, revealing a beautiful sight.

Anbuku. The farming village beneath hills of rice fields. The great grassy mounds were irrigated, cut into steps to collect rainwater. A man and his donkey could be seen gathering crops. In town other farmers were hard at work. A few thin rivers carved across the fertile landscape, tall cliffs in the distance. Tojike had never seen a rural setting like this, so different to the Leaf village.

"Woah." Manzu spoke in awe. She was the one who wanted to see faraway places.

"Hard to believe we're still in the Land of Fire." Kawari remarked.

"The Land of Fire is a big country." Tamuki replied and kept walking. "If you guys haven't travelled far from the Hidden Leaf it's no wonder this is so different to you."

The four made their way down the sloping track, looping up and over hills before weaving through to the heart of Anbuku. It wasn't a wealthy village, even without the Zero-Tails Tojike could see the weariness in the villagers they passed. Men, women and children in simple robes. Many casting glances at the visitors and whispering among themselves. With their ninja gear and headbands, and colourful clothes, the four were attracting a fair amount of attention. Tamuki took it in stride and ignored them.

"What's wrong with these people?" Kawari whispered.

"They don't look friendly…" Manzu replied.

"They're scared." Tojike answered automatically.

"How can you tell?" Kawari gave him a weird look.

Tojike bit his lip. To him, it was so obvious that these people were frightened that it'd been a rhetorical statement. The Zero-Tails was distracting him. It'd come fully alive, unwound itself completely from within Tojike, drinking up the fear and restlessness of this place. The black-haired boy didn't know how to respond to the question, he noticed that even Tamuki was eying him from in front.

"Ah…" Tojike tried to come up with something quick.

"Are you four ninjas?" A tall man blocked their path, his expression was tight and carried the same weariness of his fellow villagers.

"Yes." Tamuki answered him. "From the Hidden Leaf."

"So you've _finally_ come to help us. You are here to stop those hoodlum bandits from raiding our village?" Many of the townsfolk had stopped their business and were listening in.

"I sincerely apologize for our delay." Tamuki began, surprising her students with her respectfulness. She even gave a short bow. "A few years ago, when the Nine-Tails attacked and our beloved Fourth Hokage sacrificed himself, the Hidden Leaf village sustained a lot of damage. Not only that, but it wasn't too many years after the Third Shinobi World War. To reconsolidate, ninja teams are forming later and missions are prioritised. Slowly, we're regaining our former security. Sorry again."

The man was silent, his lips a pained line. Their witnesses were also quietly grave.

"This gang… the Takegetsu Moon they call themselves… they killed my nephew. They tried to recruit him, and when he refused they…"

"I'm sorry for your loss." Tamuki's voice was dull yet comprehending.

"So long as you stop these criminals before they can take any more from us."

"We will. I promise you that." Tamuki answered for the onlookers. Then after a pause she moved around him and continued off, her students scurrying after.

Anbuku was not a large village. Soon they came to a stop outside a wide building that looked like village headquarters. _The leader of Anbuku must live here_ , Tojike thought. Its outside was the same wooden planks as the rest of Anbuku, though the sliding doors and windows was rice-paper and bamboo. Before they could take the stairs, the door slid open and an old man with long limbs waved them over.

"Good, good. You're here. Please come in." he disappeared inside and they stepped up and into the building. It was old-styled with wide corridors, looked as if it was a rectangle surrounding one of those interior Zen gardens. In the corner was a little table with a tray of tea, cushions on the floor for them to kneel on. The inside was very bare.

"Tea but no food? I'm starving." Kawari complained. Tamuki stomped on his foot. "Ouch!"

"My apologies. We do not have much to spare." The old man knelt on his cushion and began pouring tea with a shaky hand. "There is food available in the town markets by your lodgings. I understand if you want to bathe and settle in here before… err, getting to work. If that's the case I can make this briefing quick."

"No. We can settle in after." Tamuki approached the man. "Tell us all we need to know."

They each knelt down with their tiny cups of tea, Tojike's had a crack through it. He watched Tamuki swirl her drink with suspicion. He remembered Uncle Enri, who was actually just a neighbour but came over for weekly games of mah-jong for as long as Tojike could remember. He had a flask of alcohol that he unashamedly added to his drinks, he was always a lot louder by the end of the night. Tojike's parents had never said anything whenever Uncle Enri would leave the room to pour from his flask. Maybe it was because they often won his money after the night's board games.

"Takegetsu Moon are a mob of thieves who started attacking our village three months ago. We fought at first, and they killed our young men, many of them know how to fight with weapons. It wasn't so bad at first, but now they come every week or so… It's terrible." The man's grip tightened on his drink, his head dipped in pain. "You can hear villagers screaming, that's how you know they're back. When we try to surrender our wares peacefully, they still trash the place. We are… completely vulnerable."

Overcome by emotion, the old man lowered his head in a deep bow "Please save our village. Make these criminals face justice."

"We will stop them." Tamuki assured him calmly. "You don't have to worry."

"Thank you." He raised his bald head, gratefulness behind his moist eyes.

Tojike dug his hands into his knees, moved by the sadness of the village elder. Manzu and Kawari were also affected.

"You said these bandits fight with weapons." Tamuki continued after a moment. "Do any of them have ninja training?"

"I heard a rumour that their leader, Gumo, was a Genin who defected from the Hidden Valley village. That's the ninja village in the Land of Rivers. Apparently he became a rogue ninja and escaped here. He took over a mob, renamed it Takegetsu Moon and trained his underlings how to fight. Now they pillage small villages like ours. We tried to follow them to their hideout, somewhere past the cliffs, but we were unsuccessful. Our men were spotted and killed."

"A leader with Genin-level training and underlings who can fight with weapons." Tamuki surmised. "How many of them are there?"

"Fifteen come here to raid us, give or take, some of them on horseback. But every so often I see new faces. All up they could have twenty, or even thirty members in total."

"Thirty members…" Kawari murmured.

"We can handle fifteen, easy. In fact, I could do it by myself no trouble. We'll take out the men before they can damage your village or hurt anyone else, I promise you that. We'll let one of them escape and lead us back to their hideout. Then I'll stop the rest of them, and Gumo, and reclaim whatever they've stolen from you there."

"Thank you so much!" He bowed his head, overcome by emotion once more.

Tojike sat quietly while his sensei asked more probing questions. Trying to find out as much as she could about Takegetsu Moon. Afterwards she finished her tea and stood.

"It's best that me and my students lay low while we're here. The bandits might not attack if they know the Hidden Leaf has sent reinforcements. And we _need_ them to attack for this plan to work. Try not to let many people know that we've arrived."

"Of course. I will fetch my grandson and he'll escort you to your lodgings." The old man cricked himself back up and the teens stood as well.

A tanned boy no older than Tojike led them down the dirt roads, his sleeves were torn and he wore rope around his forehead like a bandanna. He shot them looks when he thought they weren't paying attention, Tojike caught those eyes on him, wide with wonder before he quickly averted his gaze. At Kawari's protest they stopped at the markets for food. The fanciest place in all of Anbuku served slimy steamed dim sims. It looked like it'd been recently trashed by the bandits, the door itself had been repaired but was still hanging loose on a hinge.

Kawari and Manzu looked none too pleased at the basic food. It made Tojike's stomach growl however. His adoptive parents didn't make much money from their grocery shop, and they often served him food like that. Tamuki paid for their meal and carried their dim sims in a straw container. She gave one to the young boy after he'd led them to Anbuku's only inn, he marvelled at the food resting in his palm like a delicious plum. He did look rather skinny. The boy waved grandly as he left.

Their room was unfurnished. The same wooden planks; four beds, a round table with chairs. Tamuki dropped their food at the centre and they sat around it, grabbing for chopsticks and digging in.

"This isn't enough soy sauce for one person, let alone four." Manzu complained.

"This is how people live in outskirt villages, get used to it." Tamuki scolded. "If it were just me here I'd be eating carrot stew."

"How about next time we take a mission somewhere cool, like Tanzaku Town." Kawari joked, getting a stern look from the Jonin.

"Tamuki-sensei…" Tojike swallowed his mouthful. "the plan you told that old guy… do you think it'll be that easy?" The three watched their senior, Kawari chewing loudly as they waited.

"Things rarely go how you expect them to." She answered with her eyes closed, the black paint around them had mostly faded over their journey.

"If these guys are just regular crooks," Kawari pointed his chopsticks, his words muffled by the food in his mouth "Then this is just a C-rank mission, right?"

"Thirty adults, even if they're untrained, is a bit much for either of you on your own, in normal circumstances." Tamuki explained. "If you're not in the open it would be different. You could use your stealth training, you could set traps. Even in rural areas away from ninja villages, like here, there's no guarantee that your enemies have no experience in ninja arts."

"Too much for these guys maybe." Kawari puffed his chest out arrogantly. "But I-" his eyes bulged as he started a violent choking fit, banging the table with his hand.

"Gross." Manzu criticized with her forehead sternly pinched.

"You all need to be vigilant." Tamuki insisted darkly. "Or you'll die. If these thirty men turn out to be ninjas it's a whole other deal. It'd mean an A-rank mission, or higher."

Kawari recovered from his hacking fit, swallowing and slumping back in his chair with a feeble expression.

"Isn't that taking things a little far, Tamuki-sensei?" Tojike asked.

"You have to be prepared for every situation. We are ninja. This isn't a classroom. If Gumo were smart, he'd have paid off one of the villagers as a spy. If he has, and word reaches the bandits of our arrival, they might try to assassinate us in our sleep. Did any of you consider that?"

The three Genin stared at each other from across the table.

"Well no…" Tojike answered.

Tamuki popped another dim sim into her mouth, chewed quickly and swallowed. She stood up from the table.

"Get some rest soon. I'm going to do some reconnaissance. We'll have training early tomorrow morning."

They watched her turn and go, closing the door behind her. Kawari picked out another dim sim with his chopsticks and started eating more carefully.

"What training do you think she's going to make us do?" Tojike asked.

"Probably chakra control?" Manzu answered with a shrug.

The constant travel had worn them out, the three youths took turns washing themselves in the communal bathroom and then were unconscious not long after sundown. Tojike awoke in his bed early morning feeling well-rested. The mattresses didn't give much support, but they were comfortable enough. Tamuki clapped her hands at the end of their beds, as alert as if she'd been up for hours.

"Alright Team three! Rise and shine! We have work to do!"

Manzu rubbed her eye. Kawari groaned and collapsed. Tamuki kicked the leg of his bed before whirling to the door "Outside! Let's go!"

It was dawn, Tojike was still half-awake as he and the other two followed Tamuki downstairs, out of the inn, past the dirt roads and the gazes of curious onlookers. She waded through the grass, out toward the rice fields.

"Sensei!" Kawari called in dismay, the three bumbled after her at a distance. "What about breakfast?"

They got no response. After walking a while through the long grass, atop damp earth, they saw Tamuki-sensei standing with her hands on her hips before one of the wide rivers. Tojike looked over his shoulder, up the incline where town had been. He could just see a few overhanging rooftops in sight.

"Today's lesson is going to be on chakra control!" Tamuki announced.

"Told ya." Manzu murmured.

"All three of you are going to remain stationary atop running water, like I showed you the day we left the village. You are to practice here for one hour. If I'm not satisfied by your progress when I get back, you'll be out here for longer."

"Unfair." Kawari muttered.

"Less complaining and more training. Start!" Tamuki flickered and was gone. Tojike turned and saw a blur dashing back towards the village.

"Okay…" Kawari sighed and approached the water. "Let's do this. How hard could it- ah!" His foot slid across with the water and he fell forward with a splash. Tojike had to stifle his laugh.

"You're too overconfident." Manzu scolded. "That's why you keep embarrassing yourself."

"I bet I can do it better than you can!" He fired up, getting out of the water and pointing, instantly competitive.

"That's not the point!" Manzu snapped.

She had a natural temper, when roiled Manzu's anger was like a solid thing inside her. The Zero-Tails could feel it. And Kawari's competitiveness was stemming from that mysterious insecurity buried inside him. The two squabbled stubbornly until Tojike snapped out of his Reibi-trance and intervened.

"Guys, guys! Let's just try to get this training done, we might be able to help each other."

The other two stopped their arguing but turned away from each other. Training commenced and all three of them fell into the water many times as the morning wore on. There was definitely a trick to it, Tojike was catching on. Something about anchoring yourself in place with the directed chakra after steadily releasing the correct amount to hold your weight. Even after realising this Tojike was still unable to keep his feet from flying up from under him after a few seconds.

He would've shared this revelation with his comrades, but they still weren't speaking. Kawari looked very annoyed with himself as he struggled to push back to the surface with his hands. Manzu was more quietly frustrated as she tried to keep her balance atop the flowing water. Her anger seemed to be directed at the task itself.

 _Man I'm getting hungry, how long has it been?_ Tojike wondered with dismay. Another voice from within answered his thoughts.

 _I like the anger that is building here. It fuels my appetite._

 _Shut up!_ Tojike's command didn't hide his fear. He could hear the demon laughing in his mind. Ever since they left the village the Zero-Tails had been more alert than usual. Now it was tempted by the current discord. It was also eagerly waiting for the time when Tojike would face these bandits in the upcoming raid. It was dangerous, but Tojike didn't want to let the Third Hokage down. He wanted to be a useful ninja.

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 **AN: Hey guys, it's been a while. I would've updated sooner but I got no reviews for my last chapter. As such, I don't see much point in updating if nobody gives feedback. It doesn't have to be much, heck even a single word would be something. Tell me what you want more of and I'll try to accommodate! Thanks yall!**

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	7. Raid of the Bandits

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ـم _07_ ـم

 _Raid of the Bandits_

* * *

Anbuku was more lively during the day. Word had spread of the Leaf ninja who were investigating the town's dire situation. Interviews were being done by the three Genin while their sensei was working somewhere by herself. Tojike, Manzu and Kawari were by the pitiful vegetable markets talking to prominent members of the town. After the old shop lady answered some routine questions the three left for a meal at the local soup kitchen.

"Man I'm hungry!" Kawari complained as they crossed the dirt path.

"You're always hungry." Manzu spoke chidingly.

It was well into the afternoon when the youths were seated in the undercover eating area. Wooden bench tables on dirt beneath tarp. They were served their bowls, two tomato and one pumpkin soup, a single basil leaf in the centre of each. Manzu noticed an aproned man watching from the kitchen. A bulbous nose, a very serious expression on his lined face. Tojike was looking aside. Kawari quickly shovelling down his soup with the wooden spoon.

Kawari had several mouthfuls before Tojike faced forward and picked up his spoon. Manzu still gazing at the man in the kitchen. Suddenly Kawari stopped and his companions stared. The spoon dropped from his hand and the other patrons turned to look as well. The handsome teen gripped his stomach, eyes bulging, mouth gaping. He fell forward with a pained crash, spilling the bowls of poisoned food. Tojike and Manzu were up in an instant, red and yellow mush pooling and oozing through the planks of the table. Kawari was motionless, wide chocolate-coloured eyes unmoving.

"That was a fast-acting poison." Manzu stated.

A young woman screamed. Tojike heard a hissing noise from under the table.

"Get back everyone!" After his shout there was an explosion. Wood splintering and one of the posts breaking outward, the tarp dropping to smother the smoking area. Shouts of distress from passers-by.

After a moment of shocked silence Tojike stirred from where he lay on the ground. Dust-covered and grimacing. He looked at the other patrons, Manzu had protected the nearest one by jumping in the way to shield them. Now she lay lifeless atop the shocked patron, the explosion burned through her back.

"A paper bomb stuck under the seat of our table." Tojike realised, his amber eyes flickered to the kitchen worker. He'd bunched up his apron and threw it behind him as he ran. Tojike's eyes narrowed as he forced himself to his feet and began the chase.

Villagers gasped and stared as the culprit raced around the corner, the slim Tojike chased after. They passed stalls, carts and shocked bystanders. The man darted into a narrow side-street and Tojike dashed around after him. The road came to an end, the narrow path stopping abruptly, stone walls all around. Tojike skidded to a stop. _Where did he go?_

He turned and a kunai was stabbed into his middle. There was the serious man, both hands on the weapon. Tojike staggered away and then fell backward. The man with the lined face stared at the downed ninja, kunai sticking out of him, unmoving and quite dead.

"So you _are_ trained in ninja arts." Tamuki commented.

The man whipped around, eyes widened in alarm. The Jonin stood in her flak jacket, hands in her pockets. Smudged eyes looking at the rumpled camouflage sheet that he'd used to hide in the space.

Tamuki's dark eyes flickered back "but you never learnt chakra control for walking up walls, did you?"

The man clenched his fists, eyes twitching in desperation. They widened in surprise when he noticed a puddle of water spreading past his feet. He whipped around but the body behind him was gone.

"My students have been down by the river practicing their ninjutsu all day." Tamuki explained. "I had my water clones disguised with the transformation jutsu. Figured it could lure out a lark, and I was right. You're working for Gumo… I have some questions for you."

The man grunted in desperation, reaching back and into a pouch. He whipped out a kunai and Tamuki flashed forward. The blade stopped inches from the man's chest, Tamuki holding his wrist.

"Suicide?" The Jonin frowned. "You're not going anywhere until you answer my questions." She twisted his hand back and the man cried out before dropping the kunai.

* * *

"I did it!" Kawari raised his arms.

Tojike felt exhausted, hunched over at the side of the riverbank. He'd made the least progress, despite the fact they'd been at it for hours. His teammate was standing in the middle of the river, unaffected by the rushing water as it flowed around his feet. He was grinning in victory.

"Oh yeah?" Manzu was sitting a few paces away from Tojike, also tired. "Why don't you try it running?"

He refused to be goaded, turning his nose up at her words and facing away. The red-haired girl had basically mastered it as well, she turned to Tojike with a look of curious concern.

"…I can't do it." He murmured.

"You seem distracted." Manzu said. "Well… I'm not sure that's the right word…"

Tojike was anxious about the Zero-Tails, he was too pessimistic to trust himself. Even though he knew that was the reason he was failing, he couldn't seem to pull himself out of it. The black-haired boy grit his teeth in frustration.

"Hey Tojike." Kawari stepped across the running water towards them. "Looks like you really need help buddy."

 _Such optimism… so much belief in himself. I wish I could be like that_. Tojike felt an appreciative smile form as he eyed the ground. Kawari was so talented, he was ahead of him and Manzu, though in this instance he wasn't beating her by much. Even so, he didn't feel like Tojike's weakness was holding him back. He wasn't frustrated, he wanted to help. Tojike couldn't sense anything bad behind his desire to help. _Maybe you would make a good Hokage._

"Yeah… it seems hopeless."

"Don't be so quick to give up." Kawari frowned.

"Quick? We've been at this since dawn." Manzu corrected and Kawari ignored her.

"It's just not working for me today." Tojike murmured.

"Then you have to keep trying." The boy insisted.

Tojike looked at him. He didn't have the boy's belief, but having someone else believe in him was enough for him to give it another shot. He didn't really think much would change, but he'd give it another go to appease his friend. He climbed to his feet. Manzu did as well.

A few minutes later all three of them were standing atop the moving water. Kawari and Manzu had managed to stay afloat the surface for long periods before, but it was the first time Tojike had managed it. His eyes were wide with incredulity. At that moment he couldn't feel the Zero-Tail's negativity at all. He glanced between the faces of his teammates and they both gave him tired smiles of approval. _Amazing_.

The three of them turned at the sound of their approaching sensei. Tamuki gave a rare smile at their success.

"Good work, you three."

Tojike's left foot began to sink and he waved his arms, regained his balance. The three of them walked carefully off the river, back toward land.

"Tamuki-sensei, can we have food now?" Kawari's eyebrows sank in dismay.

"Of course."

"Awesome! I wanted to try that soup kitchen."

"…best not." Tamuki answered. "I had several clones patrolling the village and I've uncovered some interesting information. The Takegetsu Moon already knows we're here."

"They do?" Manzu blinked.

"But now I'm quite sure of their hideout and some other important details. Seems like these mobsters are trained in ninja arts, though they don't have proper chakra control. They've been trained… And they plan to attack soon."

"They want to fight us?" Kawari didn't understand. Her students were all impressed with Tamuki's information gathering.

"The next attack should be mounted within a few days, so we probably won't be here long. This probably will be settled before Team Two arrives."

The three teenagers became determined. The fight would be coming soon.

Two days passed with both leisure and training. Mainly focussing on chakra control, but also more combat training. Nothing too tiresome, it was important to not risk injury when the upcoming raid was so close. They focused chakra by the river, grass and trees. Ran up-down the bark as they fought. Overlooked innocent Anbuku from hills of layered rice-fields.

It was atop a grassy hill, sitting by himself with legs crossed, that Tojike admitted his feelings to himself.

It was just growing dark, lanterns making the many windows of Anbuku glow. Such a poor town. Tojike's mouth was turned down as he remained in solitude. Not feeling depressed, or even hollow. But there was something else that was a concern. Though it didn't feel like it, it was sure to cause trouble later down the line. Fresh air breezed, making the tall grass around him sway.

Tojike had romantic feelings for his teammate. Kawari Senju.

There'd always been an attraction. Then feelings of excitement and interest that grew. And now, he acknowledged, actual feelings. Kawari was warm, energetic, optimistic, talented and motivated. He was of the legendary Senju clan of the Leaf. Kawari was handsome. He was a bit too much of everything.

Kawari wanted to become a great ninja. If love ever became relevant to him, he would marry at a later age after his goals were accomplished. He'd have enough standing in his own clan and the village that it wouldn't take him long to find an acceptable woman, and even have children. Kawari would reach his goals. Maybe not Hokage, but he was already on track to being an important member of his famed clan. Love would not be a distraction for him now.

Kawari would never want him, but Tojike would never dare to expect he could. It didn't change the fact that he had these feelings. Tojike would have to do his best to hide them. What was happening to him? How much of getting swept away was a choice? He would choose to supress these feelings, but he couldn't deny the strong attraction.

After a while he made his way back to the village and his team. It was that night that Takegetsu Moon attacked.

Tamuki straightened in bed, threw the sheet off revealing she was still in her ninja gear. She hopped out and Tojike stirred in his bed, wiping his eyes.

"Manzu, Kawari, Tojike. Get dressed, my clone spotted something." She took a moment to fit on her weapons pouch then opened the window and leapt onto the banister. "The west side of town, toward the cliffs." She flashed outside, jumping between roofs.

The youths stared before scrambling for their gear. They raced out and down the stairs, out into Anbuku. The streets were quiet, villagers fearfully hidden from the oncoming raiders. The teens ran the empty dirt streets to the west side of town. Sure enough blazing torches could be seen from the mountain pass, men on horseback.

"We can't let them reach the village." Manzu said softly.

She was in her navy-blue gear with the Uzumaki crest on the back. Kawari drew a kunai, he was in his green martial arts uniform with the Senju symbol displayed. Tojike readied himself, ignoring the Reibi twitching with excitement inside him – sensing the oncoming battle. He was wearing his maroon clothes, carrying the Kohaku clan twin commas with him into the fight.

The three youths stood ready by the houses, watched as the troop of horses slowed and came to a stop. They were wearing shogun armour. The man in the lead with the most ornate metal-wear was probably Gumo, the rebel Genin from the Land of Rivers. They were archers, and their arrows were lit by the torches. At the raising of Gumo's sword the bow-strings were drawn.

 _He's come with these men to burn the whole village to the ground!_ Tojike's eyes widened. But then he noticed Tamuki nearby, standing high up atop a corner roof spire.

"Defend Anbuku." She instructed them.

The men roared and fired their arrows, blazing shots arcing through the night. Tamuki was already weaving signs "Wind Style: Vortex Blast!" The air swirled and buffeted back, scattering the arrows. Tamuki perched before launching toward the ground, whipping out a scroll and plucking her trademark windmill shuriken from the cloud of smoke. Her feet skidded and she threw the weapon before the archers could shoot her down.

The leader ducked off and fell in a crouch to dodge the well-aimed attack. Many of the horses reared, some more arrows were drawn.

"Tamuki-sensei!" Tojike heard himself call out in fear.

"Stay back you three." Her hand seals were rapidly flicking by "I'll handle these men alone."

There was the _thrung_ of an arrow before another vortex blast collided with the raiders. The men and steeds were blasted off the ground, separating from their harnesses. Weapons and armour scattering. The horses that were knocked over climbed up and ran, scattering toward the forest with their reigns fluttering behind them. Their neighs and gallops vanished ghostly in the night.

Nine soldiers stirred from the ground, Gumo hunching on all fours and clutching his blade.

"This village… is ours!" he spat.

"Summoning Jutsu." Tamuki weaved signs and splayed both hands, symbols spreading apart and spiralling around, two clouds of smoke which revealed twin raccoons the size of people. They each held massive scrolls the size of them, one red and the other green. "Let's do this, Shuriken Blade Rain!"

The two creatures pounced in the air, whipped open their scrolls and from clouds of smoke, countless shuriken and kunai exploded out toward the ground. A few stray weapons bounced off the villains' armour, some embedding the ground by their feet, but most of the deadly rain of metal landed around them in a wide circle, forming a perimeter.

 _What is she up to?_ Tojike thought. Him and his teammates watched on in wonder.

The two human-sized raccoons skidded back, clutching their now blank scrolls. Tamuki's eyes were sinister behind her black smudges. The weapons glinted in the lantern light of Anbuku, reflecting moonlight that peered out from behind grey clouds.

"You really came here to destroy Anbuku? Criminals like you make me sick. You knew you couldn't steal from it anymore so you wanted to burn it to the ground, Gumo?"

"Fool…" he got to his feet, a few of his men drawing kunai from the ground and wielding them. "We're here to destroy Anbuku… but we're just the distraction. The others are kidnapping the village elders as we speak."

Tojike felt a pulse of darkness. His amber eyes were wide as he was taken-aback by the heavy presence. In his mind flashed a familiar image: the lady villager from the Land of Grass who died in the Third Shinobi War. He could see the blonde woman, embedded with kunai, dying in Tamuki's arms. _It's her… this is…_

"You think you can kill innocent people and get away with it? Raid them like barbarians?" Tamuki spoke in a low voice, head bowed.

"You're gonna die too lady! I'm not scared of your weapons or wind attacks!" He roared and charged toward her, brandishing his sword. The other men prepared to back him up.

Tamuki made a seal; the Zero-Tails laughed at her murderous intent. Tojike knew immediately that those men were going to die.

"This is my own original, signature move." Tamuki began. "Death Blizzard."

Her ash-brown hair fluttered and the wind blast stunned the attackers. The ground flattened, cracked, kunais spinning slowly in mid-air. Then the air circulated, and in an instant they were swallowed by a typhoon. Cries of pain were washed out by the wind. All of the chakra-infused weapons were now loose and whipping by at blinding speed in the storm.

It lasted for ten impressive seconds before the howling wind died down. Almost all the weapons had found themselves embedded in the soldiers. Many had torn straight through – through the armour, their bodies, and outside again. They fell inside a wide crater, all of them dead in a near instant. Tamuki stared forward emotionlessly.

"Princess Tamuki…" one of the raccoons spoke up. "Is that all of the enemies?"

"Your services aren't required as of now. You can return to Master Gamu and the Gogomi Wasteland." She turned away and her two summons vanished one after the other in smoke puffs.

"So strong…" Kawari murmured as their teacher approached them.

"We have to rescue the village elders. That man before wasn't Gumo. Dressing like he was the leader was part of the act. I'm going on to the mountain pass alone, it'll be faster that way. I don't want to waste any more time."

"Sensei you can't!" Manzu cried. "Jonin or not, missions like these aren't supposed to be done alone! You don't know what could happen!"

"Are we supposed to just stay back at Anbuku?" Kawari shouted. "No way!"

"Listen. You three will serve as my backup. I'm heading out quickly. You three do a sweep of the village and then come after me. So long as you stick together. I won't always be there to protect you… so you need to rely on your own strengths."

Tojike's heart was racing. The Zero-Tails soaked in the death and destruction. There was the sound of commotion in the direction of the village. The team turned their heads.

"Summoning jutsu!" The Jonin ducked down and in a smaller cloud of smoke appeared Mr Baki, the regular-sized raccoon who'd witnessed their training match before. He turned around in his blue vest, wriggling his whiskers at them. "My students will explain the situation. Stay with them."

"I was just about to have a bath…" Mr Baki complained.

"I'm going now. Make sure you don't die."

"Tamuki-sensei!" Manzu cried but her figure blurred and was gone. The teens stood in silence.

"…yeah she does that. Up and off, that Tamuki." Mr Baki said in his weasel voice.

The sound of commotion was louder, Kawari whipped his head around "Come on guys, we got to defend the village!"

The Senju started running, Manzu and Tojike following after. Mr Baki sprinted agile at their heels. Anbuku's streets and houses blurred past as they ran. The youths came to a stop at the sight of three shogun-armoured bandits trashing the vegetable market.

"Thank goodness!" a weeping woman called from the streets. "Please save my shop!"

The three turned their helmet-masks at the young ninjas.

"Teenage brats, huh?" one of them spoke.

"What have you done with the elders?" Kawari spoke sternly.

"If you want them back the Hidden Leaf will have to pay a ransom for interfering with us! And this whole shitty town is getting burned to the ground!"

"Looks like one each." Manzu stated.

"Heh. I can take them out myself." Kawari clapped his hands into the snake seal.

"Earth Style: Earth Wall!" Between them the earth buckled and raised. Kawari sprinted up the wall and prepared to jump. A kunai stabbed into the other side, and attached was a hissing explosive tag. "Shit!"

They separated, the three of them jumping far and landing on separate awnings by the roadside.

"They do know ninja arts…" Tojike murmured. He drew a kunai from his pouch and quickly deflected a shuriken aimed his way.

"Let's do this!" Manzu raced across tiles and leapt to a building on the other side, propelling off toward a guy and deflecting the weapon he hurled at her. The bandit jumped back when Manzu landed with a slash, darting away as she attacked with the kunai.

"You think a girl like you can beat me?" The man roared and knocked the weapon out of her hand. He stepped forward with a punch and the Uzumaki girl darted around him. She gathered chakra with the ram seal. Jumped back to dodge an elbow. Ducked and weaved away from several more punches before weaving hand signs.

"Three-pronged seal!" she timed it well. Moving in close and slipping three fingers in the gap between his helmet and chest armour. The pads of her fingers were glowing with purple light.

Her enemy jolted with a shout. Manzu leapt back and he reached for his neck, body twitching.

"What did you do to me?" He gasped. Burning symbols whispered menacingly as they wormed over his armour and skin. The man continued to twitch as he fell to his knees, quickly paralysed.

The bandit next to him raised a kunai as he turned to Manzu. Kawari flashed forward with impressive speed, kicking the kunai out of his hand. Smacking him back and off-balance with a series of hits, and then spin-kicking him into a cart of vegetables. He slumped as the potatos spilled out onto the street.

"Taijutsu? Even though he was wearing armour?" The remaining bandit gaped. Kawari shook his fist off but was otherwise fine. That armour had dents in it.

The remaining guard was startled when he noticed Tojike standing a few feet in front of him. Hands in the rat seal. From behind the helmet mask Tojike could see the man's eyes widen in horror.

"N-n-no! You're not supposed to be real! Please-!" he fell down, clutching his head in torment. Quivering like a leaf as the Reibi uncoiled. Tojike could perceive several illusions – ghosts of people this man had killed as well as a childhood terror. He lowered his hands while watching his mentally crippled opponent.

"Impressive, kids." Mr Baki complemented.

"Thank you!" the woman villager called from behind a roadside cart.

"We need to do a sweep of Anbuku so we can catch up with Tamuki-sensei at the mountain path as quick as possible!" Kawari turned with an authoritarian voice. Manzu and Tojike nodded in agreement.

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 **AN: Thanks to my only regular reviewer Stryker23 for commenting on my last chapter! I'm interested enough in this story to keep writing for one person for now, but hopefully I'll get more reviewers soon! What do you think's gonna happen~ ?**

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